The Baseball Network

The Baseball Network was an American television broadcasting venture created by Major League Baseball, ABC, and NBC in the aftermath of MLB's financially damaging television agreement with CBS. It represented an unusual attempt to make the league responsible for producing, packaging, and marketing its own national broadcasts rather than simply licensing game rights to a network. The arrangement was approved by MLB owners in May 1993 and was intended to begin with the 1994 season. Major League Baseball contributed the programming and controlled the package, while ABC and NBC supplied broadcast distribution, production resources, promotional support, and startup funding. The structure was designed to reduce the networks' exposure to the risks associated with buying expensive long-term sports rights, while giving MLB a larger role in advertising and sponsorship revenue. The league was expected to receive a substantial share of advertising proceeds, although the arrangement was forecast to produce less guaranteed rights income than the preceding CBS contract. The package differed significantly from the traditional national baseball schedule. Rather than presenting a single nationally distributed game of the week, The Baseball Network offered regionally selected games in common exclusive windows. Its principal regular-season program was called Baseball Night in America. Affiliates could select games of local or regional interest, with the possibility of switching between games during breaks in play. The venture's exclusive windows also prevented other national, cable, superstation, and local broadcasters from showing MLB games during the same designated periods. The network launched on July 12, 1994, when NBC televised the All-Star Game from Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. ABC began its regular-season portion on July 16 with the premiere of Baseball Night in America. The programming was supported by prominent announcers and studio personnel, including Bob Costas, Joe Morgan, Bob Uecker, Al Michaels, Tim McCarver, Jim Palmer, Greg Gumbel, Hannah Storm, and Johnny Bench. The launch generated strong advertiser interest, and the All-Star Game reportedly sold out its commercial inventory. The venture was quickly undermined by the 1994–95 players' strike. The strike interrupted the season before NBC could begin its planned regular-season broadcasts, canceled the postseason, and eliminated the World Series for the first time since 1904. The regionalized presentation also received criticism from viewers and commentators, who found the scheduling and availability of games confusing and considered the absence of a conventional national game of the week a weakness. Although the arrangement was nominally planned for six years, with an option for two additional years, it ended after the 1995 season. NBC retained selected MLB rights after the dissolution, but Fox became MLB's new national broadcast partner beginning in 1996. The Baseball Network remains notable as the first United States television network owned by a professional sports league, as well as an early experiment in league-controlled sports media production and regionalized national distribution. Its later conceptual successor, MLB Network, did not launch until 2009 and operated as a substantially different and more durable cable channel.

The Baseball Network emerged from Major League Baseball's effort to recover from the financial and strategic failure of its 1990–1993 television agreement with CBS. CBS had paid a large rights fee for exclusive MLB coverage, but declining advertising interest and weak returns made the contract highly damaging to the network. MLB therefore explored a model in which it would produce and market broadcasts itself and use television partners primarily as distributors and production collaborators. The league's approach also reflected wider changes in baseball. Expansion added the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins, while the planned 1994 realignment introduced three divisions in each league and a wild-card playoff berth. MLB hoped that more meaningful divisional races would create attractive regional and national programming. The proposed package was approved by owners on May 28, 1993, without CBS's participation. ABC and NBC each contributed startup funds and returned to MLB coverage after a four-year absence. The arrangement was structured differently from a traditional rights sale. MLB controlled the package and expected to take a large share of advertising and sponsorship revenue. ABC and NBC obtained access to games without assuming the full financial exposure associated with CBS's earlier contract. The venture was planned as a six-year arrangement with an option for two additional years. The networks were also motivated by the desire to limit the growing influence of Fox, which had recently obtained the National Football Conference television rights and was building a major sports broadcasting operation. The Baseball Network's programming concept was based on regionalized national coverage. Its regular-season centerpiece, Baseball Night in America, used designated Saturday or Friday prime-time windows in which affiliates could carry games of local interest. Up to many regional games could be presented simultaneously, and the production could move viewers between contests during breaks. The package had exclusive windows, meaning that other broadcasters, including cable networks, superstations, and local stations, generally could not show MLB games during the same periods. Canadian coverage was handled under the rights arrangements available to broadcasters such as TSN and CBC affiliates, and Blue Jays and Expos games were not always part of the same distribution pattern. NBC launched the venture on July 12, 1994, with the All-Star Game from Three Rivers Stadium. Its announcing group included Bob Costas, Joe Morgan, and Bob Uecker, with Greg Gumbel hosting and Hannah Storm and Johnny Bench contributing reporting. ABC began its regular-season schedule on July 16. Al Michaels returned to baseball play-by-play alongside Tim McCarver and Jim Palmer, marking Michaels's return to MLB television after ABC's 1989 World Series coverage had been interrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake. The launch displayed both the potential and the weaknesses of the model. Advertisers reportedly purchased all available commercial inventory for the 1994 All-Star Game, but viewers and critics found the regional presentation less intuitive than a conventional national game of the week. The inability to know in advance which game would be available in a particular market, combined with the lack of a consistent coast-to-coast showcase, reduced the package's perceived accessibility. The planned NBC regular-season broadcasts were further damaged when the players' strike began before its schedule could start. The strike canceled the remainder of the 1994 season, the postseason, and the World Series. Although MLB and the networks attempted to continue into 1995, the venture did not achieve the stability or reception its architects had expected. After the 1995 season, The Baseball Network was dissolved. NBC continued to carry certain MLB events, but Fox became the league's new national broadcast partner in 1996. The Baseball Network is remembered as a pioneering but unsuccessful attempt by a professional sports league to own and operate a national television network. It also foreshadowed later league-controlled media initiatives, although MLB Network, launched in 2009, used a cable-channel model rather than the short-lived network's shared broadcast-window structure.

• 1996

  Fox takes over national MLB coverage

  [1]The Baseball Networken.wikipedia.org

  Fox became MLB's new national broadcast partner after the joint venture ended.

• 1995

  Final season

  [1]The Baseball Networken.wikipedia.org

  The Baseball Network completed its final season before being dissolved.

• 1994

  The Baseball Network begins broadcasting

  [1]The Baseball Networken.wikipedia.org

  NBC launched the venture's coverage with the All-Star Game on July 12, 1994.

• 1994

  Baseball Night in America premieres

  [1]The Baseball Networken.wikipedia.org

  ABC introduced the regionalized prime-time regular-season package on July 16.

• 1994

  MLB players' strike cancels the postseason

  [1]The Baseball Networken.wikipedia.org

  The strike ended the season and canceled the playoffs and World Series, severely disrupting the venture's debut period.

• 1993

  MLB owners approve the joint venture

  [1]The Baseball Networken.wikipedia.org

  Major League Baseball owners approved a new television arrangement involving MLB, ABC, and NBC, replacing the prior CBS-centered model.

A league-controlled national baseball television package designed to combine MLB's in-house production and marketing with ABC and NBC distribution. Its distinctive positioning emphasized regional relevance, shared broadcast windows, and reduced financial risk for the participating networks rather than a conventional nationally distributed game of the week.

• Prime-time regular-season television package · 1994

  Baseball Night in America

  The venture's signature regular-season program, Baseball Night in America, presented multiple regionally selected MLB games in common prime-time broadcast windows. Affiliates generally selected contests relevant to their local markets, while the package could update viewers with other games during breaks. The format replaced the familiar national game-of-the-week model and was intended to make divisional and regional races more central to the broadcast experience.

• Sports television rights package · 1994

  MLB postseason coverage

  The planned and partially delivered postseason package included the newly expanded Division Series, the League Championship Series, and the World Series. ABC and NBC were scheduled to alternate major postseason responsibilities by year, but the 1994 players' strike prevented the postseason and World Series from taking place.

• Live sports broadcast · 1994

  MLB All-Star Game coverage

  The All-Star Game served as The Baseball Network's launch event. NBC televised the 1994 game from Pittsburgh, using a broadcast team led by Bob Costas, Joe Morgan, and Bob Uecker, with Greg Gumbel hosting the pregame presentation.

• 1995

  Dissolution of the joint ventureStrategy

  Background

  The venture was weakened by the players' strike, the canceled 1994 postseason, and negative reactions to its regionalized presentation.

  Action taken

  MLB, ABC, and NBC ended The Baseball Network after the 1995 season.

  Aftermath

  NBC retained certain MLB rights, while Fox became the league's new national broadcast partner beginning in 1996.

  • Fox — Fox secured the succeeding national MLB television partnership.

  Source

• 1994

  Launch of Baseball Night in AmericaProduct launch

  Background

  MLB sought to replace the traditional national game of the week with regionally relevant games presented in exclusive prime-time windows.

  Action taken

  ABC premiered the program and affiliates carried selected games according to regional interest.

  Aftermath

  The concept attracted advertiser interest but was criticized for making game availability and scheduling less predictable for viewers.

  Source

• 1993

  MLB chooses an in-house production and revenue-sharing modelStrategy

  Background

  The decision followed the poor financial performance of CBS's exclusive MLB contract and MLB's desire to exert greater control over production, advertising, and distribution.

  Action taken

  MLB created a joint broadcasting venture with ABC and NBC rather than selling the package through a conventional single-network rights agreement.

  Aftermath

  The model reduced the participating networks' rights-fee risk but produced a complicated regional format and did not survive beyond 1995.

  • Fox — Fox was viewed by the venture's architects as an emerging sports-media competitor; it became MLB's national broadcast partner after the venture ended.

  Source

1. 1The Baseball Networken.wikipedia.org