Contents

1 Baseball Firsts 2 Monday Night Baseball 3 ABC & NBC Alternates Coverage of the All-Star Game, League Championship Series, and World Series: 1976-1989 4 Major League Baseball on CBS-TV: 1990-1993 5 The Baseball Network: 1994-1995 6 Baseball Comes to Fox 7 Baseball Leaves NBC Again

Baseball Firsts

The first-ever televised baseball game was on May 17th, 1939 between Princeton & Columbia; Princeton beat Columbia 2-1 at Columbia's Baker Field. The contest was aired on W2XBS, an experimental station in New York City which would ultimately become WNBC-TV.

On August 26th, 1939, the first ever Major League Baseball game was televised (once again on W2XBS). With Red Barber announcing, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds played a doubleheader at Ebbets Field. The Reds won the first 5-2 while the Dodgers won the second, 6-1.

In 1947, the World Series, which was sponsored by Ford Motors & Gillette, was televised for the very first time. The first very televised World Series game had the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers by the score of 5-3.

On April 16th, 1948, WGN-TV broadcasted its first big-league game, with Jack Brickhouse calling Chicago White Sox's 4-1 win vs. Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

On July 11th, 1950, the All-Star Game out of Chicago's Comiskey Park was televised for the first time.

On November 8, 1950, Commissioner Happy Chandler and player reps agreed on the split of the TV-radio rights from the World Series. A few weeks later, Gillette signed a 6 year deal, worth an estimated $6 million, with Major League Baseball for the TV-radio rights for the World Series.

On August 11th, 1951, WCBS-TV in New York City televised the first baseball game (in which the Milwaukee Braves beat the Brooklyn Dodgers by the score of 8-1) in color. In October of that year the first nationally televised baseball game aired as the Dodgers beat the New York Giants by the score of 3-1.

On January 31st, 1953, the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Boston Red Sox joined forces against St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck. The respective franchises tried to force to Browns to play afternoon games in an attempt to avoid having to share television revenues.

A month later, Major League Baseball owners receive a warning from Senator Edwin Johnson about nationally televising their games. Johnson's theory was that nationally televising baseball games would be a threat to the survival of minor league baseball. The owners pretty much ignored Johnson since the games on NBC in particular, were gaining a large and loyal following. Three years later, NBC would televise the first ever World Series game (in which the Yankees beat the Dodgers 6-5) in color.

Also in 1956, baseball's owners announced that the players' pension fund will receive 60 percent of World Series and All-Star Game radio and TV revenues.

On July 23, 1962, Major League Baseball had its first satellite telecast (via Telstar Communications). The telecast included portion of a contest between the Chicago Cubs vs. Philadelphia Phillies from Wrigley Field with Jack Brickhouse commentating.

On July 17, 1964, a game out of Los Angeles between the Chicago Cubs & Los Angeles Dodgers contest beccame the first Pay-TV baseball game. Basically, Subscription Television offered the cablecast to subscribers for money. The Dodgers beat the Cubs by the score of 3-2, with Don Drysdale collecting 10 strikeouts by the way.

On March 17th, 1965, Jackie Robinson became the first black network (ABC) broadcaster for Major League Baseball. ABC provided the first-ever nationwide baseball coverage with weekly Saturday broadcasts on a regional basis. ABC paid $5.7 million for the rights to the Saturday/holiday Game of the Week. ABC's deal covered all of the teams except the New York Yankees & Philadelphia Phillies (who had their own television deals) and called for two regionalized games on Saturdays, Independence Day, and Labor Day. ABC blacked out the games in the home cities of the clubs playing those games.

Monday Night Baseball

On October 19th, 1966, NBC signed a three year contract with Major League Baseball. The year before, NBC lost the rights to the Saturday-Sunday Game of the Week. In addition, the previous deal limited CBS to covering only 12 weekends when its new subsidiary, the New York Yankees, played at home.

Under the new deal, NBC paid roughly $6 million per year for the 25 Games of the Week, $6.1 million for the 1967 World Series & 1967 All-Star Game, and $6.5 million for the 1968 World Series & 1968 All-Star Game. This brought the total value of the contract (which included three Monday night telecasts) up to $30.6 million. From 1972-1975 (under a contract worth $72 million), NBC extended the Monday night telecasts to 10 (with a local blackout).

On September 1, 1975, the last Monday Night Baseball game, in which the Montreal Expos beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5, was televised on NBC. ABC would pick up the television rights for Monday Night Baseball games in the following year. Just like with Monday Night Football, ABC brought in the concept of the three-man-booth (originally comprised of Bob Prince, Bob Uecker, and Warner Wolf ) to their baseball telecasts.

ABC & NBC Alternates Coverage of the All-Star Game, League Championship Series, and World Series: 1976-1989

Under the initial agreement with ABC, NBC, and Major League Baseball (1976-1979), both networks paid $92.8 million. ABC paid $12.5 million per year to show 16 Monday night games in 1976, 18 in next three years, plus half the postseason (the League Championship Series in even numbered years and World Series in odd numbered years); NBC paid $10.7 million per year to show 25 Saturday Games of the Week and the other half of the postseason (the League Championship Series in odd numbered years and World Series in even numbered years).

In 1980, 22 teams (all but the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals) took part in a one-year cable deal with UA-Columbia. The deal involved the airing of a Thursday night Game of the Week in markets at least 50 miles from a major league park. The deal earned Major League Baseball less than $500,000, but lead to a new two-year contract for 40-45 games per season.

On April 7, 1983, Major League Baseball, ABC, and NBC agreed to terms of a 6-year television package worth $1.2 billion. The two networks would continue to alternate coverage of the playoffs (ABC in even numbered years and NBC in odd numbered years), World Series (ABC would televise the World Series in odd numbered years and NBC in even numbered years), and All-Star Game (ABC would televise the All-Star Game in even numbered years and NBC in odd numbered years) through the 1989 season, with each of the 26 clubs receiving $7 million per year in return. The last package gave each club $1.9 million per year. ABC contributed $575 million for regular season prime time and Sunday afternoons and NBC paid $550 million for thirty Saturday afternoon games. Breakdown:

• 1983 - $20 million in advance from the two networks

• 1984 - NBC $70 million, ABC $56 million, total $126 million.

• 1985 - NBC $61 million, ABC $75 million, total $136 million.

Note: The networks got $9 million when Major League Baseball expanded the League Championship Series from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven in 1985.

• 1986 - NBC $75 million, ABC $66 million, total $141 million.

• 1987 - NBC $81 million, ABC $90 million, total $171 million.

• 1988 - NBC $90 million, ABC $96 million, total $186 million.

• 1989 - NBC $106 million, ABC$125 million, total $231 million.

In 1985, ABC announced that every game of the World Series would be played under the lights for the biggest baseball audience possible. Just prior to the start of the 1985 World Series, ABC removed Howard Cosell from scheduled announcing duties as punishment for his controversial book I Never Played The Game. In Cosell's place came Tim McCarver (joining play-by-play man Al Michaels & fellow color commentator Jim Palmer), who was beginning his trek of being apart of numerous World Series telecasts. Also in 1985, NBC's telecast of the All-Star Game out of the Metrodome in Minnesota was the first program to be broadcasted in stereo by a TV network.

Major League Baseball on CBS-TV: 1990-1993

On December 14th, 1988, CBS (under the guidance of Commissioner Peter Ueberroth) paid $1.2 billion for exclusive television rights for over four years (beginning in 1990). CBS paid $275 million for the World Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the Saturday Game of the Week.

In addition to the landmark deal with CBS, on January 5th, 1989, Major League Baseball signed $400 million deal with ESPN, who would show over 175 games in beginning in 1990. For the next four years, ESPN would televise six games a week (Sunday, Wednesday, doubleheaders on Tuesdays & Fridays, plus holidays).

This wasn't the first time that CBS televised Major League Baseball games. Prior to 1990, CBS aired the Saturday Game of the Week from 1954-1965. The star announcers for the old Game of the Week on CBS were Dizzy Dean & Pee Wee Reese.

In 1966, NBC took over the rights to the Game of the Week with Curt Gowdy as the star announcer. Other announcers to be featured on NBC's Game of the Week for the next 20 plus years include: Vin Scully, Joe Garagiola, Bob Costas, Tony Kubek , Lindsey Nelson, Marv Albert, Dick Enberg, Sandy Koufax, Bryant Gumbel, Monte Moore , Ted Robinson, Jon Miller, Duke Snider, Maury Wills, and Gayle Gardner .

NBC's final edition of the Game of the Week was televised on October 9, 1989; Game 5 of the National League Championship Series between the San Francisco Giants & Chicago Cubs. Vin Scully, who had been NBC's #1 play-by-play man since 1983 said "It's a passing of a great American tradition. It is sad. I really and truly feel that. It will leave a vast window, to use a Washington word, where people will not get Major League Baseball and I think that's a tragedy." The final regular season edition of NBC's Game of the Week by the way, was televised on September 30th, 1989. That game featured the Toronto Blue Jays beating Baltimore Orioles 4-3 to clinch the AL East title.

Before the previous television contract (1983-1989) with Major League Baseball was signed, CBS was at one point, interested in a pact which would have called for three interleague games every Thursday night (only). The purposed deal with CBS involved the AL East teams playing the NL East and the AL West playing the NL West respectively.

Major League Baseball's four year tenure with CBS (1990-1993) was marred by turmoil and shortcomings throughout. For starters, Brent Musburger, who was orginally slated to be the #1 play-by-play announcer for baseball telecasts (thus, having the tasks of calling the All-Star Game, National League Championship Series, and World Series) was fired by CBS on April Fools Day of 1990.

Jack Buck was bumped to the top play-by-play spot with just weeks before CBS' first baseball telecast. With Buck now the #1 play-by-play man (with ABC baseball alumni Tim McCarver as his partner), his original back-up spot was filled in by CBS' top NBA announcer Dick Stockton (with Jim Kaat as Stockton's partner); studio host Greg Gumbel took over for Stockton in 1993. After two years of calling baseball telecasts for CBS, Jack Buck was dismissed in December of 1991. According to the radio veteran Buck, he had a hard time adjusting to the demands of a more contricting television production. CBS felt that Buck should've done more to make himself appear to be a set-up man for lead analyst Tim McCarver.

Jack Buck got into deep trouble with CBS executives a year earlier over questionable comments made towards singer Bobby Vinton. While on air during the National League Championship Series in Pittsburgh, Buck criticized Vinton's off-key rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. What got Buck into trouble was that his pot-shot towards Vinton sounded as if he was making a prejudicial remark centered on Vinton's Polish heritage. Legend has it, that Buck soon received death threats from Pirate fans and discoverd a footprint on his pillow once he returned to his hotel room.

Jack Buck was soon replaced by Boston Red Sox announcer Sean McDonough. In 1992, McDonough at 30 years of age, became the youngest man to call a national broadcast of a World Series. Also in 1992, Tim McCarver ran afoul of Atlanta Braves outfielder Deion Sanders while in the Braves' clubhouse following Game 7 of the NLCS. Sanders dumped a bucket of ice water on McCarver as retailation for McCarver's on-air comments that criticized Sanders' life as a two-sport athlete.

In the end, CBS wound up losing approximately half a billion dollars from their television contract with Major League Baseball. Reasons for CBS losing so much money may include:

• CBS alienated fans with their sporatic threatment of regular season telecasts. With a sense of true continuity destroyed, fans eventually figured that they couldn't count on CBS to satisfy their needs. CBS televised 12 regular season Saturday afternoon games which was 18 less than NBC televised in the previous contract.

• The Toronto Blue Jays were in back-to-back World Series from 1992-1993. Unforuately, Canada does not factor in the Nielsen Ratings so as a conseqence, CBS got the lowest ratings in over 20 years for a World Series (not counting the earthquake interupted 1989 World Series that was televised by ABC).

• The country at the time was going through a recession.

• CBS couldn't properly maximize the deal because the Division Series wasn't created yet (thus automatically giving CBS more games to carry) and they didn't have a cable outlet like Fox Broadcasting Company's Fox Sports Net.

The final Major League Baseball game that CBS has televised to date, was Game 6 of the 1993 World Series on October 23. Before Major League Baseball decided to seek the services of other networks, CBS offered $130 million per year to renew its previous contract.

The Baseball Network: 1994-1995

After the fall-out from CBS' fiancial problems with their four year long television contract with Major League Baseball, MLB decided to go into the business of producing the telecasts themselves. After a four year hiatus, ABC & NBC returned to Major League Baseball under the umbrella of a revenue sharing venture called The Baseball Network. Under a five year plan, MLB was intended to receive 85% of the first $140 million in advertising revenue, 50% of the next $30 million, and 80% of any additional money. When compared to the previous TV deal with CBS, The Baseball Network was supposed to bring in 50% less of the broadcasting revenue.

The Baseball Network kicked off its coverage on July 12, 1994 with the All-Star Game out of Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium. The game was televised on NBC with Bob Costas, Joe Morgan, and Bob Uecker calling the action.

After the All-Star Game was complete, NBC was scheduled to televise six regular season games (usually up to 14 based on the viewers' region as opposed to a traditional coast-to-coast format) in prime time (under the Baseball Night in America umbrella). ABC (with a reunited Al Michaels, Tim McCarver, and Jim Palmer as the primary crew) would then pick up where NBC left off by televising six more regular season games. In even numbered years, NBC would have the rights to the All-Star Game and both League Championship Series while ABC would have the World Series and newly created Division Series. In odd numbered years the postseason & All-Star Game television rights would alternate.

What seperated The Baseball Network from previous television deals with Major League Baseball was the fact that none of the postseason games outside of the World Series would air nationally. Because of this, games would often be played simultaneously.

The long term plans for The Baseball Network crumbled when the players went on strike on August 12th, 1994 (thus forcing the cancellation of the World Series). In July of 1995, ABC & NBC, who wound up having to share the duties of televising the 1995 World Series as a way to recoup (with ABC having the rights to the odd numbered games and NBC the even numbered games), announced that they were opting out of their agreement with Major League Baseball.

Baseball Comes to Fox

Soon after the Baseball Network fiasco, Major League Baseball made a deal with Fox & NBC on November 7th, 1995. Unlike The Baseball Network, Fox went back to the tried & true format of televising regular season games (18 weekly telecasts normally after Memorial Day) on Saturday afternoons. Fox did however, continue a format that The Baseball Network started by offering games based purely on a viewer's region.

27 year old Joe Buck was named Fox's #1 play-by-play man. Ironically, Buck was teamed with Tim McCarver, who was considered the main reason behind the firing of Buck's father Jack from CBS five years earlier. Other commentators for Fox have included: Chip Caray, Steve Lyons , Dave Winfield, Thom Brennaman , Bob Brenly, Keith Olbermann, Kevin Kennedy, Kenny Albert, Jerry Remy, Josh Lewin , John Rooney , Dick Stockton, Jeff Torborg , Rex Hudler , and Jeanne Zelasko .

Despite of the failure of The Baseball Network, NBC decided to stay on with Major League Baseball but on a far more restricted basis. Under the five year deal (from 1996-2000), NBC didn't televise any regular season games. Instead, NBC only handled the All-Star Game, three Division Series games, and the American League Championship Series in even numbered years and the World Series, three Division Series games, and National League Championship Series in odd numbered years.

In 1997, just before the start of NBC's coverage of the World Series, West Coast Entertainment division president Don Ohlmeyer came under fire after publically announcing that he hoped that the World Series would end in a four game sweep. Ohlmeyer believed that baseball now lacked broad audience appeal. In addition, Ohlmeyer feared that the World Series would disrupt NBC's efforts to attract enough viewers for its new fall roster in order to stay on top of the ratings heap.

In 1999, NBC's field reporter Jim Gray, who had previously covered Major League Baseball for CBS, came under fire for a confrontational interview with banned all-time hit king Pete Rose. Just prior to the start of Game 2 of the World Series, Gray pushed Rose, who was on hand in Atlanta's Turner Field to accept the fan voted honor of being named to Master Card's All Century Team, into admitting to betting on baseball games while as manager of the Cincinatti Reds ten years earlier. After NBC was flooded with tons of viewer complaints, Gray was forced to clarify (much less apologize) his actions to the viewers at home prior to Game 3. Regardless of Gray's sincerity, Game 3 hero Chad Curtis of the New York Yankees boycotted Gray's request for an interview live on camera; Curtis had hit a game winning home run to send the World Series 3-0 in the Yankees' favor.

In 2000, NBC was caught in the dilemma of having to televise a first round playoff game between the New York Yankees & Oakland Athletics over the first presidential debate between George W. Bush & Al Gore. NBC decided to give its local stations the option of carrying the debate. NBC also placed a crawl at the bottom of the screen to inform viewers that they could see the debate on its sister channel MSNBC. On the other end, Fox said that it would carry baseball on the two nights when its schedule conflicts with the presidential or vice presidential debates.

During NBC's coverage of the 2000 Division Series, regular play-by-play man Bob Costas decided to take a breather after anchoring NBC's prime time coverage of the Summer Olympic Games from Sydney. In Costas' place came Atlanta Braves announcer Skip Caray, who teamed with Joe Morgan before Costas' return for the ALCS.

During the 2000 World Series that was televised by Fox, 1% of the televisions in New York watched Game 5. The next 30 largest television markets, during that same exact viewing period, registered double digit percentage losses compared to the market in New York City.

Baseball Leaves NBC Again

Major League Baseball currently has contracts with Fox (worth $2.5 billion through the year 2006) to show Saturday baseball, the All-Star Game, selected Division Series games and exclusive coverage of the League Championship Series and World Series.

ESPN and ESPN2 have contracts to show selected weeknight and Sunday night games, along with selected Division Series playoff games. After Disney bought Fox Family in 2002 to become ABC Family the Division Series games aired on ABC Family (with ESPN's announcers, graphics, and music) for one year.

Under the previous five year deal with NBC, Fox paid $115 million while NBC only paid $80 million. Before NBC decided to part ways with Major League Baseball (for the second time in about 12 years) on September 27, 2000, Fox's payment would've been $345 million while NBC would've paid $240 million. Before 1990, NBC had carried Major League Baseball since 1947.

Under the new deal, Fox would now pay out an average of $417 million a year, which was about a 45 percent increase from the previous deal (worth $290 million a year) that Fox, NBC and ESPN contributed together.

When asked about the new deal with Fox, Commissioner Bud Selig said "We at Major League Baseball could not be happier with the result. They have been a good partner and an innovative producer of our games."

Some observers believed that gaining the relative ratings boost from the League Championship Series and World Series meant more to Fox than the other broadcast networks. That was because Fox had the biggest prime time ratings decline of the four major networks during the 1999-2000 season. Its average prime time audience of 8.97 million was down 17 percent from the year before, according to Nielsen Media Research.