MLB Around the Clock
On New Year’s Day, Major League Baseball will launch the MLB Network, a 24-hour baseball channel. The network is operated entirely by the league and will feature exclusive programming owned by MLB. It will be available to most cable and dish customers for no additional charge.
The network has hired several notable personalities, analysts and former players, to work on the programming. Former play-by-play announcer for the Padres, Matt Vasgersian, will be the studio host of the Network. He’ll be joined by former players Al Leiter, Harold Reynolds, Dan Plesac and Joe Magrane. In addition, former NESN analyst Hazel Mae will join the team.
The station will operate out of the former MSNBC studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, which they have renamed Studio 42, in honor of Jackie Robinson.
The signature show will be MLB Tonight, which will air every evening and feature similar programming and content to ESPN’s Baseball Tonight. MLB Hot Stove will be the featured attraction during the offseason and will discuss all the current happenings off the field. The first ever Hot Stove will air at 6 p.m. Eastern on Jan. 1.
Another unique feature is MLB Park, a replica baseball field on which the analysts will break down plays. The field has bases set 45 feet apart and an authentic pitcher’s mound. The park has seating available for a studio audience, which will be used on occasion.
The channel will look at each team as they head into the new season with a feature titled 30 Teams in 30 Days.
The first game aired on the network will be Don Larsen’s perfect game from the 1956 World Series. Footage of the game was long believed to be nonexistent but the league was able to obtain a good copy. After that, the network will feature other historical games throughout their schedule. Additionally, at least 16 games from this year’s World Baseball Classic will be shown.
Baseball is the last of the four major sports to launch its own network. The other sports, the NBA, the NHL and the NFL, have met with varying degrees of success with their channels. The NFL Network posts high ratings during the season, but tails off in the spring and summer. Ratings for both the NHL and NBA channels have been relatively stagnant. MLB is banking on the fact that baseball’s active offseason will keep interest in the league and network vibrant all year.
