Baseball Night in America
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| Baseball Night in America | |
|---|---|
 The current logo for Baseball Night in America. | |
| Also known as | MLB on Fox Fox Saturday Baseball |
| Genre | Baseball telecasts |
| Presented by | Joe Davis John Smoltz Ken Rosenthal Adam Amin A. J. Pierzynski Adam Wainwright Jason Benetti Tom Verducci |
| Opening theme | "MLB on Fox theme music" (2020–present) "NFL on Fox theme music" (2012–2019) |
| Composers | NJJ Music (2020–present) Scott Schreer (2012–2019) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 10 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Various MLB stadiums (game telecasts) Fox Network Center, Los Angeles, California (studio segments, pregame, and postgame shows) |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 180 minutes (varies depending on game length) |
| Production company | Fox Sports |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox FS1/FS2 (overflow coverage only) |
| Release | May 26, 2012 – present |
| Related | |
| MLB on Fox | |
Baseball Night in America is an American television presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by Fox Sports for the Fox network on Saturday or Thursday nights.
Fox's coverage includes 24 weeks worth of coverage as of 2024, with 20 Saturday windows and 4 Thursday windows. Coverage usually includes 2 to 4 separate games all starting at 7PM ET, with local affiliates airing the game of most interest to their audience.
History[edit]
While Fox has aired Fox Saturday Baseball games since 1996, Fox only began using the Baseball Night in America branding in 2012.[1] In the inaugural season, the Baseball Night in America branding was used for games from May 19 to July 7.[2]
Until 2021, Baseball Night in America aired every Saturday from the last week in May to the second week in July. Beginning with the 2019 season, late season Fox Saturday Baseball games moved from the afternoon to prime time. therefore a separate section of games was added for September. Some of these September games aired on Thursday night as Thursday Night Baseball.[3]
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the 2020 season, Fox Saturday Baseball returned to airing some afternoon Saturday games on July 25, August 29 and September 5. Fox aired Saturday primetime games between July 25 and August 1, and between September 12 and September 26, as well as on August 15.[4] Fox returned to their 2019 scheduling for the 2021 season.
For the 2022 season, Fox aired Baseball Night in America games every Saturday from May 28 to September 10, as well as on Saturday, October 1. Games aired on Thursday nights on September 15 and September 22. This is the result of Fox increasing the amount of games they air on broadcast television in their new television contract, as well as a side effect of the loss of Fox's Thursday night NFL games outside of local syndication.[5][6]
For the 2023 season, Fox aired Baseball Night in America games every Saturday from May 6 to July 29, as well as on August 12, August 26, September 2 and September 30. Games also aired on Thursday nights on August 3, August 17, September 14 and September 21. For the first time since 2020, Fox also aired afternoon Fox Saturday Baseball games on April 1, April 22, April 29 and June 24.[7]
For the 2024 season, Fox will air Baseball Night in America games every Saturday in primetime from May 4 to August 10, as well as on March 30, August 31, September 7 and September 28. Games will also air in primtime on Thursday nights on June 20, August 22, September 12 and September 19. Fox will also air Fox Saturday Baseball afternoon games on April 27 and June 8.[8]
On air staff[edit]
Play-by-play commentators[edit]
- Joe Davis (Lead)
- Adam Amin
- Jason Benetti
- Kevin Kugler
- Don Orsillo
- Len Kasper
- Kenny Albert
- Alex Faust
- Jeff Levering
- Aaron Goldsmith
Color commentators[edit]
Field reporters[edit]
Studio[edit]
- Kevin Burkhardt (Host)
- Chris Myers (Host)
- Mike Hill (Host)
- Jenny Taft (Host)
- Eric Karros (Analyst)
- Mark Sweeney (Analyst)
- Dontrelle Willis (Analyst)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "FOX Hearkens Back to the Baseball Network with 'Baseball Night in America'". 10 April 2012.
- ^ "Was Baseball Night in America a success this year for Fox?".
- ^ "Fox Sports and Major League Baseball Extend Rights Deal Through 2028". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- ^ "FOX Sports Announces 2020 MLB Regular Season Schedule on FS1 and FOX Deportes". 14 July 2020.
- ^ "FOX Sports Lays Out Its 2022 Major League Baseball Regular Season Schedule". 31 March 2022.
- ^ "Joe Davis Takes on Flagship Baseball Role at Fox Sports". 8 April 2022.
- ^ "FOX Sports Unveils Its 2023 Major League Baseball Regular Season Schedule". 23 March 2023.
- ^ Lucia, Joe (January 11, 2024). "MLB on Fox 2024 schedule released, with several teams featured eight times apiece". Awful Announcing. Retrieved January 12, 2024.