Tuesday Night Baseball
Branding for televised live game telecasts
Tuesday Night Baseball is the de facto branding used for nationally televised live broadcasts of Major League Baseball (MLB) games in the United States on Tuesday evenings during the regular season.
Through the 2021 season, Tuesday night games aired on FS1, ESPN, and MLB Network. Beginning with the 2022 season, games air on TBS, branded as MLB on TBS Tuesday Night. Because TBS airs only one game on most Tuesday nights, MLB Network will often air a second game before or after the TBS game.
History
ESPN (1990–1993)
On January 5, 1989, Major League Baseball signed a $400 million deal with ESPN, who would show over 175 games beginning in 1990. For the next four years, ESPN would televise six games a week (Sunday Night Baseball, Wednesday Night Baseball and doubleheaders on Tuesdays and Fridays), as well as multiple games on Opening Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.
Since the end of that contract ESPN has not officially aired a full slate of Tuesday night games but has consistently aired several games per year since 1997. With Turner Sports gaining the exclusive rights to MLB games on Tuesday nights, Tuesday night ESPN games were discontinued.
Fox Sports
FX (1997–1998)
In 1997, FX obtained the partial pay-TV rights to MLB games; while most game telecasts aired on Monday nights or Saturday nights, 11 games in 1997 and 1 game in 1998 aired on Tuesdays.
FS1 (2014–2021)
FS1 occasionally aired baseball on Tuesday nights between 2014 and 2021 as part of their irregularly scheduled non-exclusive broadcast package. With the TBS television package having moved to Tuesday nights in 2021, FS1's schedule no longer includes Tuesday night games.
MLB on TBS Tuesdays (2022–present)
Prior to 2022, during the regular season, TBS broadcast a weekly game nationally on Sunday afternoons, under the title Sunday MLB on TBS. These games were not exclusive to TBS and were blacked out in local markets, to protect the stations that hold the local broadcast rights to the games. In the affected areas, simulcasts of programming from sister network HLN aired in place of the games.[1]
On September 24, 2020, it was announced that Turner Sports had renewed its baseball rights through 2028 (aligned with the conclusion of Fox's most recent extension). However instead of a package of Sunday afternoon games the contract includes primetime games on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season.[2][3][4]
The program includes a 30-minute studio show before and after each game.[5]
References
- ^ Fang, Ken (October 25, 2016). "DOES THE MLB ON TBS PACKAGE REALLY BENEFIT FANS AND VIEWERS?". Awful Announcing.
- ^ "Turner Sports, MLB officially agree to new seven-year media rights deal Turner Sports, MLB officially agree to new seven-year media rights deal". Awful Announcing. 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ Hayes, Dade (September 24, 2020). "WarnerMedia, Major League Baseball Reach 7-Year Rights Extension At Reported $3.75B; Will HBO Max Benefit?". Deadline.
- ^ Marchand, Andrew (September 24, 2020). "MLB's new $3.75 billion deal with Turner includes big changes". New York Post.
- ^ "New MLB on TBS Tuesday Night Season-Long Live Franchise to Debut with NL West Clash – San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants – Tuesday, April 12, at 9:30 p.m. ET". Turner Sports. March 21, 2022.
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