Toronto Blue Jays on Sportsnet
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''Toronto Blue Jays on Sportsnet'' is a live telecast of
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
baseball games that air on
Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...
,
Sportsnet One Sportsnet One (SN1 or SN One) is a Canadian English-language discretionary digital cable and satellite specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media; it operates as a national sports channel complementing the Sportsnet group of regional sp ...
, or Sportsnet 360. Starting in
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
, some games were broadcast in high definition. As of
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, all games that air on the network are presented in high definition, and as of
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, all home games are broadcast in
ultra-high definition Ultra-high-definition television (also known as Ultra HD television, Ultra HD, UHDTV, UHD and Super Hi-Vision) today includes 4K UHD and 8K UHD, which are two digital video formats with an aspect ratio of 16:9. These were first proposed by ...
. Sportsnet began showing Blue Jays games in
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
and is now their official television carrier, carrying all televised Blue Jays games throughout the regular season. Non-Blue Jays games on Sportsnet are also branded as ''MLB on Sportsnet''.


History

Sportsnet launched in October 1998 as CTV Sportsnet and began covering Blue Jays games on April 6,
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
. During the early years, Sportsnet would broadcast between 40 and 60 games. Starting in
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, Sportsnet began broadcasting more games than TSN (
The Sports Network The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. Since 2001, it has been majority-owned by comm ...
) and took over the majority rights. Rogers Sportsnet broadcast 120 Jays games in
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
and
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, 103 in
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, 122 in
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
and
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, 116 in
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
and all 162 games in
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. Games also began to air on digital channel
Sportsnet One Sportsnet One (SN1 or SN One) is a Canadian English-language discretionary digital cable and satellite specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media; it operates as a national sports channel complementing the Sportsnet group of regional sp ...
upon its launch in August 2010. Since the Blue Jays and Sportsnet are both wholly owned by
Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of mobile phone operator, wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet access, Intern ...
, Sportsnet's rights are of indefinite duration. Blue Jays games that are designated as exclusive to digital platforms (via league-wide media contracts) are the only broadcasts that are not aired on the Sportsnet channels. Sportsnet is also the main television outlet for
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
in Canada, holding Canadian rights to Fox's Saturday games, the
All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...
, and the postseason. Most Sportsnet channels (including Sportsnet One) also carry a variety of non-Blue Jays games of regional interest, including the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
(particularly on the East and Ontario feeds) and the
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
(on the Pacific feed), among others. Sportsnet formerly also aired ESPN's ''
Sunday Night Baseball ''Sunday Night Baseball'' is an exclusive weekly telecast of a Major League Baseball game that airs Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN during the regular season. The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show ''Baseball Tonight: ...
'', but sub-licensed the games to TSN in exchange for its previous package of Blue Jays games. On October 5, 2015, Rogers announced that it would broadcast all Blue Jays home games during the 2016 season in 4K.


Commentators

As of 2010, Blue Jays games are preceded by a pre-game show, ''Blue Jays Central'' (formerly ''Jays Connected''), hosted by Jamie Campbell, which starts half an hour before the game. Blue Jays Central updates occur after the fourth inning and in the middle of the eighth inning. Since 2022, a Blue Jays Central update occurs after the sixth inning. As of the 2010 season, Blue Jays games are called by
Buck Martinez John Albert "Buck" Martinez (born November 7, 1948) is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager, and is currently the television play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball ( ...
on play-by-play, with
Pat Tabler Patrick Sean Tabler (born February 2, 1958) is an American former Major League Baseball player. After retiring professional baseball, he became a color analyst for the Toronto Blue Jays on the Canadian sports television networks TSN and Sportsn ...
as analyst. In September 2014, Sportsnet extended their contract with the network through 2019. Beginning in 2016, former ''
Sunday Night Baseball ''Sunday Night Baseball'' is an exclusive weekly telecast of a Major League Baseball game that airs Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN during the regular season. The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show ''Baseball Tonight: ...
'' commentator
Dan Shulman Daniel Shulman is a Canadian sportscaster with Sportsnet as well as the American network ESPN. Shulman serves as a play-by-play announcer for select Toronto Blue Jays telecasts on Sportsnet and during 2018 and 2020 he hosted the baseball-the ...
calls play-by-play on selected games, with Martinez taking on a colour role. Due to the structure of Rogers' MLB broadcast contracts, Sportsnet was not permitted to use its domestic production for Blue Jays games if the team is in postseason play (as it is technically still considered a regional broadcaster), and instead carried the U.S. broadcast (such as
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
in 2015, and TBS in 2016). Buck Martinez has served as a colour commentator for post-season coverage ultimately simulcast by Sportsnet, including Division Series games for TBS, and on the
MLB International MLB International is a division of Major League Baseball primarily responsible for international broadcasts of games. In partnership with DirecTV and MLB Network, it produces and syndicates the All-Star Game, and the World Series, as well as the Ca ...
broadcast of the
2016 World Series The 2016 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2016 season. The 112th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Chicago Cubs and the American Leag ...
. Beginning in the 2022 season, Sportsnet is now able to broadcast Blue Jays postseason games with its own production as MLB's national Canadian rightsholder, if necessary; Dan Shulman was not available for postseason broadcasts in 2022 due to his commitments to
ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...
's postseason coverage, but will be stepping down in favour of
Jon Sciambi Jon "Boog" Sciambi (; born April 11, 1970) is an American sportscaster for ESPN and the Marquee Sports Network, currently the everyday play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Cubs TV broadcasts. He has worked extensively as a baseball play-by-pla ...
in 2023 under new contracts with ESPN (which will leave him solely as the network's lead
college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
commentator).


Current

*
Buck Martinez John Albert "Buck" Martinez (born November 7, 1948) is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager, and is currently the television play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball ( ...
: (play-by-play, alt colour on select games, 2010–present) *
Dan Shulman Daniel Shulman is a Canadian sportscaster with Sportsnet as well as the American network ESPN. Shulman serves as a play-by-play announcer for select Toronto Blue Jays telecasts on Sportsnet and during 2018 and 2020 he hosted the baseball-the ...
: (play-by-play, 2016–present, select games) * Jamie Campbell: (studio host, 2010–present) *
Joe Siddall Joseph Todd Siddall (born October 25, 1967) is a Canadian former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, and Detroit Tigers. Professional career Siddall was signed by the M ...
: (studio analyst, 2018–present) *
Hazel Mae Hazel Mae Barker (born April 7, 1970), known professionally as Hazel Mae, is a Filipino-Canadian sportscaster. She was the former lead anchor for the New England Sports Network's SportsDesk news program and most recently the anchor on MLB Networ ...
: (field reporter, 2015–present)


Past

* Alan Ashby: (analyst, 2011–2012, select games) *
Rod Black Rod Black (born September 28, 1962) is a Canadian sports announcer best known for his work with CTV Sports and TSN from 1990 to 2021. He is now a host and brand ambassador for NorthStar Bets, a brand of NorthStar Gaming. Education Black was bor ...
: (play-by-play, 1999–2000) *
Rob Faulds Rob Faulds (born September 29, 1955) is a Canadian sportscaster on Sportsnet. Faulds graduated from Western University and started his broadcasting career at CFPL (AM) in London, Ontario. He then worked for CKSO radio and covered the 1992 Summ ...
: (play-by-play, 2001–2004) * Jamie Campbell: (play-by-play, 2005–2009) *
Joe Carter Joseph Chris Carter (born March 7, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, ...
: (analyst, 1999–2000) *
John Cerutti John Joseph Cerutti (April 28, 1960 – October 3, 2004) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers between 1985 and 1991, and was later a broadcaster for the Blue Jays. Playing ca ...
: (analyst, 2001–2004) *
Tom Candiotti Thomas Caesar Candiotti (born August 31, 1957) is an American former knuckleball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers. As of the 20 ...
: (analyst, 2003, 2005, select games) *
Darrin Fletcher Darrin Glen Fletcher (born October 3, 1966) is an American former professional baseball catcher and sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, and To ...
: (analyst, 2005–2009, select games) *
Rance Mulliniks Steven Rance Mulliniks (born January 15, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball player. Playing career Originally drafted as a shortstop, Mulliniks made his major league debut in for the California Angels, batting .269 in 78 games. He ...
: (analyst, 2005–2010) *
Pat Tabler Patrick Sean Tabler (born February 2, 1958) is an American former Major League Baseball player. After retiring professional baseball, he became a color analyst for the Toronto Blue Jays on the Canadian sports television networks TSN and Sportsn ...
: (analyst, 2005–2022) *
Sam Cosentino Salvatore "Sam" Cosentino (born March 16, 1971) is a Canadian sportscaster who currently works as a junior hockey analyst on Rogers Sportsnet. Baseball Cosentino attended Spring Arbor College in Spring Arbor, Michigan, where he played baseball a ...
: (Field Reporter, 2007–2010)


References


External links







{{Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball on television 1999 Canadian television series debuts 1990s Canadian sports television series 2000s Canadian sports television series 2010s Canadian sports television series Sportsnet shows Toronto Blue Jays