The MLB Network is an American television

sports channel Sports channels are television speciality channels (usually available exclusively through cable and satellite) broadcast sporting events, usually live, and when not broadcasting events, sports news and other related programming. The first spo ...

dedicated to

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

. It is primarily owned by

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) ...

, with Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit,

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

NBC Sports Group NBC Sports Group is a division of NBCUniversal that is responsible for NBC Sports' media properties, encompassing the NBC television network's sports division as well as day-to-day operation of the company's sports-oriented cable networks and oth ...

Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, ...

, and

Cox Communications Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It ...

having minority ownership. The channel's headquarters and studios are located at their leased facilities in

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,Hartz Mountain Industries which formerly housed

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politic ...

's studios. MLB Network's studios also house NHL Network, which came under the management of

MLB Advanced Media MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) is a limited partnership of the club owners of Major League Baseball (MLB) based in New York City and is the Internet and interactive branch of the league. Robert Bowman, former president and CEO of MLBAM, indicated in ...

in mid-2015 and transferred most operations from the network's former

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

home base. Tony Petitti, former executive producer of

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street (Manhattan), 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS ...

, was named the network's first president. Petitti served as MLB Network's president until December 2014, when he was appointed as Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball. Rob McGlarry, who worked as Senior and later Executive Vice-president of Business Affairs at MLB Network since 2009, was named the network's second president. As of February 2015, MLB Network is available to approximately 69,991,000 pay television households (60.1% of subscription television customers) in the United States.

History

Major League Baseball became the fourth major North American professional sports league to launch its own 24-hour cable network. NBA TV dates back to 1999, the NHL Network to 2001 (though not in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

until 2007), and the

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...

to 2003. However, MLB Network is carried in the most households of these four networks, as it is available on all of the top-ten video operators in the United States. MLB Network soft-launched on December 16, 2008, with a rolling automated loop of archival programming and promotions for the network for cable systems that carried the network's transmissions leading up to the January 1, 2009 launch. The channel fully launched at 6:00 p.m. EST with the premiere of ''

Hot Stove ''Hot Stove'' is an offseason baseball talk show that airs on MLB Network and is simulcast on MLB Network Radio. The show offers the coverage of offseason activities including trades, free agent signings, and rumors. It is taped live in "Studi ...

''. In April 2012, MLB Network's standard definition feed shifted to a 16:9 letterbox format. Both of the network's SD and HD feeds now show the same format. On April 4, 2016, MLB Network debuted a new on-air graphics package optimized for the 16:9 format, replacing the previous on-air look used since the network's New Year's Day 2009 launch.

Carriage

The network has signed contracts with numerous cable and satellite carriers, including

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California, El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary ...

Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV ...

, Verizon Fios,

Cablevision Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...

, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, and AT&T Uverse. In a deal that was pioneered by other sports league owned channels, MLB tied carriage of the MLB Network to the ability to carry the popular out of market MLB Extra Innings package. In return, cable and satellite providers were offered a minority share of the new network.

Satellite radio

On March 26, 2010, it was announced that satellite radio station MLB Home Plate will be rebranded to MLB Network Radio which will simulcast some MLB Network programs such as '' MLB Tonight'' and ''Hot Stove''. The switchover began on April 4, the first day of the 2010 MLB season.

Canadian carriage

At launch, no announcement was made about MLB Network availability in Canada, home of the

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 ...

. Network officials had been in contact with Blue Jays owner

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 ...

(owner of Rogers Cable, the largest cable provider in Canada) about making MLB Network available in Canada, but emphasized prior to the channel's launch that a deal was not imminent. In August 2008, Rogers secured

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

(CRTC) approval for a Canadian digital channel tentatively called "Baseball TV".Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2008-171
/ref> This license could have been used to launch a localized version of MLB Network with domestic advertising and additional

Canadian content Canadian content (abbreviated CanCon, cancon or can-con; ) refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requirements, derived from the Broadcasting Act of Canada, that radio and television broadcasters (inclu ...

, along the lines of NBA TV Canada, which is owned by the parent company of the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Atlantic Division (NBA) ...

but uses much of the content of the league's U.S. channel NBA TV. It was reported initially that Rogers intended to pursue this approach to bring MLB Network to Canada. However, the licence was issued on the condition the channel launch by August 2011, which did not occur. Rogers ultimately agreed to sponsor MLB Network's request to be added to the CRTC's list of approved foreign television services, which would permit Canadian cable and satellite providers to import the American feed, as has occurred previously with similar niche-sports services such as

Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news, analysis programs ...

, NFL Network, and Golf Channel. The application was published for public comment on June 13, 2012 and was approved on November 21, 2012. In the interim, the Rogers-owned Sportsnet One aired selected programs from MLB Network, including ''

Quick Pitch This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. ...

'' and ''

Intentional Talk ''Intentional Talk'' is an hour long (during the regular season) and a 30-minute-long (during the offseason) talk show shown live Monday-Friday at 4:00 ET (during the regular season) or at 3:30 ET (during the offseason) on MLB Network. Hosts S ...

''. MLB Network was added to Rogers Cable systems in Ontario on January 8, 2014, in both standard and high definition. On June 3, 2015,

SaskTel Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation, operating as SaskTel, is a Canadian crown-owned telecommunications firm based in the province of Saskatchewan. Owned by the provincial government, it provides wireline and wireless communicat ...

announced that it would begin carrying MLB Network. As of 2017, it is also available on MTS and

Vidéotron Vidéotron is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Owned by Quebecor, it primarily s ...

. On March 23, 2017, MLB Network launched on

Bell Fibe TV Bell Fibe TV is an IP-based television service offered by Bell Canada in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is bundled with a FTTN or FTTH Bell Internet service, and uses the Mediaroom platform. Bell Fibe TV officially launched on Septe ...

and

Bell Satellite TV Bell Satellite TV (french: Bell Télé; formerly known as Bell ExpressVu, Dish Network Canada and ExpressVu Dish Network and not to be confused with Bell's IPTV Fibe TV service) is the division of BCE Inc. that provides satellite television se ...

. Shaw Cable, the dominant carrier in Western Canada, does not offer MLB Network.

Mediacom Mediacom Communications Corporation is the United States' fifth largest cable television provider based on the number of video subscribers, and among the leading cable operators focused on serving smaller cities and towns. The company has a s ...

also does not offer MLB Network. As of 2018, MLB Network is carried nationwide in Canada on the

DAZN DAZN ( "da zone") is a global sports entertainment platform. Different to traditional linear and satellite broadcasting, DAZN is an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service meaning that it is delivered directly to viewers via the internet. The ...

streaming service.

High definition and 4K

The

720p 720p (1280×720 px; also called HD ready, standard HD or just HD) is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HDTV (1.78:1). All major HDTV broadcas ...

high-definition simulcast of MLB Network launched simultaneously to the regular channel. After much discussion, MLB Network decided to use the 720p format instead of 1080-line-interlace because it believes 720p shows the motion of baseball more accurately and will degrade less when recompressed by cable operators to save bandwidth (most of the regional

Fox Sports Networks Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

use the same format). As Mark Haden (VP of engineering and IT of MLB Network) says: "That's our best shot of maintaining quality to viewers." All studio programs and original shows are shot in HD, as well as all self-produced games such as those of the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference t ...

and '' Thursday Night Baseball'', as well as simulcasted locally produced games and contracted game packages it handles such as

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

and

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced ...

's '' Friday Night Baseball''. The network also remastered 30 World Series films in high definition. On April 14, 2016, it was announced that 25 ''MLB Network Showcase'' games would be broadcast in 4K ultra-high definition exclusively on DirecTV in the 2016 season, beginning April 15.

On-air staff

Programming

Live game coverage

Regular season

MLB Network airs several live games a week. These games are blacked out in the participating markets of the two teams (unless listed otherwise). Blacked-out markets receive an alternate game or pre-taped programming. * '' MLB Network Showcase'': MLB Network's weekly presentation of self-produced non-exclusive games each every other night. As of August 25, 2022, Bob Costas, Brian Kenny, Matt Vasgersian, Scott Braun, Rich Waltz,

Adnan Virk Adnan Virk ( ur, ) (born July 29, 1978) is a Canadian sportscaster for MLB Network and DAZN who previously worked for ESPN, TSN, and WWE. He also produces and hosts the weekly podcast ''Cinephile with Adnan Virk'' show covering cinema news and ...

and Stephen Nelson provide

play-by-play In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present In linguis ...

. Normally, As of June 4, 2022,

Jim Kaat James Lee Kaat (; born November 7, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher for the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins (–), ...

, Dan Plesac, and

Tom Verducci Thomas Verducci (born October 23, 1960) is an American sportswriter who writes for ''Sports Illustrated'' and its online magazine SI.com. He writes primarily about baseball. He is also a reporter and commentator for Fox Major League Baseball and ...

provide color commentary with Al Leiter, Sean Casey, Harold Reynolds, or

Bill Ripken William Oliver Ripken (born December 16, 1964), nicknamed Billy the Kid, is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from – for the Baltimore Orioles (1987–92, '96), Texas Rangers (199 ...

also providing occasional color commentary. Normally,

, Jon Morosi and others handle on-field reporting. * Other night games: MLB Network airs games on every night, simulcast from one team's local TV broadcaster. On Tuesday nights, MLB Network features a Singleheader coverage (due to TBS switching its games to Tuesdays), with an early East Coast game or by a later West Coast game (depending on what window TBS selects).MLB Network: Ready For Opening Day With New Games Packages, More Subs, Advertisers
''Multichannel News'' March 28, 2011 * ''MLB Matinee'': MLB Network airs a series of afternoon games throughout the regular season. As with night games, these matinee games feature simulcasts of the home team's local telecast unless the home game is in Toronto, then the away team feed is used. * ''Minor League Baseball'': MLB Network will occasionally pick up Minor League Baseball games being broadcast by its cable TV partners. This has included Triple-A and Double-A games along with some minor leagues' All-Star games.

Postseason

When MLB expanded the playoffs in 2012 and created the Wild Card Round, TBS won the broadcast rights for both games, and in exchange, two Division Series games shifted to MLB Network, the first postseason games in their history. The first telecast took place on October 7 and featured the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

hosting the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, the Tigers had played at the c ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

for game two of the 2012 ALDS. Matt Vasgersian called the game alongside analyst Jim Kaat. The second telecast took place on October 10 and featured the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

hosting the St. Louis Cardinals at

Nationals Park Nationals Park is a baseball stadium along the Anacostia River in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Home to Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals since its completion in 2008, it was the first LEED-certified green major prof ...

in Washington, D.C., for game three of the

2012 NLDS The 2012 National League Division Series were two best-of-five game series to determine the participating teams in the 2012 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners and a fourth team—the winner of 2012 National League ...

; this was the Nationals' first home postseason game since moving to Washington at the start of the 2005 season. Bob Costas provided the play-by-play commentary alongside analyst Jim Kaat. Starting in 2014, as part of FOX's new eight year rights agreement, MLB Network would air two Division Series games from the league assigned to FOX for each postseason. This arrangement was originally announced as continuing with a new rights deal in 2022. However, in September 2022, it was announced that Spanish-language broadcasts of the

ALDS In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...

and

ALCS The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...

would instead air on MLB Network.

International

International live-game coverage self-produced by MLB Network includes the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

and the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

. The 2014

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and association fo ...

opening series from Sydney between the

Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and Diamondbacks was a co-production between MLB Network and ESPN Australia, along with the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...

GEM A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

, which held the home rights for the broadcasts. Beginning with the 2015 season, MLB Network produces MLB International coverage of the

MLB All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

and the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...

Spring training

The channel also airs live and tape delayed

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

games, simulcasted from one of the team's local TV rightsholder's feed, or if not available, the spring training complex's internal scoreboard video feed with the team's radio network audio. These games are also subject to local blackouts.

Other games

The channel also carries live development league games and occasionally broadcasts live college games. In August 2009, they aired youth baseball championships, including the RBI World Series and the Cal Ripken World Series. It also airs some games of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fi ...

including the All-Star game and the championship.

''Fox Saturday Baseball'' pre-game show

In 2012, MLB Network took over the pre-game production responsibilities for the MLB on Fox package, producing '' Baseball Night in America'' and postseason pre-game shows from Secaucus and on-location. The show featured Matt Vasgersian or Greg Amsinger and two analysts from a rotating roster of MLB Network's personalities (Eric Byrnes, Kevin Millar, Dan Plesac, Harold Reynolds, Bill Ripken, or Mitch Williams). The show used Fox's graphics and theme songs. Fox took back control of the pregame show in 2014 when the "Game of the Week" package was eliminated.

Daily shows

MLB Network produces promos for its current MLB Network original series which air on regular basis as well as for films that MLB Network broadcast. MLB Network also airs promos for special events that it airs and different games that it broadcast live. MLB Network Ballpark Cam Yankee Stadium

* MLB Tonight: The signature show of MLB Network, which debuted at the start of 2009 Spring Training in a 60-minute format; as of 2011, the show airs seven days a week during the regular season, and is now a full-year program. The show has updates, highlights, news, and analysis. The original plan was also to feature exclusive live look-ins using their own permanent HD cameras with shots not available on any of the channels covering the game; however, MLBN has decided to use "ballpark cam" only before and after games. Live cut-ins simulcast from the stations/networks covering the games. In 2011, ''MLB Tonight'' won a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Studio Show - Daily. *

: Until 2012, ''Hot Stove'' was a re-branded version of ''MLB Tonight'' for the winter, generally airing at the same times from the same set but with different graphics. Like ''MLB Tonight'', it was the signature program on MLB Network from November until March during the major league off-season, featuring news reports and analysis of all offseason moves as teams prepare for the upcoming season. It gets its name from the baseball term Hot stove league. On November 12, 2012, ''Hot Stove'' became a live weekday morning show hosted by Matt Vasgersian and Harold Reynolds, airing at 9:00 AM ET and repeated during the day. ''MLB Tonight'' continued as before, under that name, in its customary time slot (when not moved for awards presentations or special programs). *

: A 60-minute daily fast-paced show of highlights from that day's games and currently hosted by Siera Santos or Keiana Martin. Premiered April 12, 2009. Currently, it airs live at the conclusion of ''MLB Tonight'' or the last live game of the night and then repeats throughout the overnight and morning hours until 9 AM ET. * MLB Now: The series premiered April 1, 2013, and new episodes air Monday thru Friday on MLB Network. Season one had Brian Kenny and Harold Reynolds debating about baseball's daily events and news with Reynolds taking the "traditional" perspective and Kenny using

sabermetrics Sabermetrics, or originally SABRmetrics, is the empirical analysis of baseball, especially baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. Sabermetricians collect and summarize the relevant data from this in-game activity to answer specific que ...

to approach each topic. The debate was moderated by Kristina Fitzpatrick. The season one finale aired in early October. On February 26, 2014, host Brian Kenny announced via Twitter that ''MLB Now'' had been renewed for a second season to premiere in April 2014. Season two saw some changes as Reynolds and Fitzpatrick exited the show, which now centers around Kenny and three other guests that include one MLB on-air personality and two former or current players, managers, general managers, journalists, reporters, or analysts. The format is similar but Kenny acts as moderator and also debates with the guests. Currently, it airs Weekdays at 2 PM ET. * The Rundown: A two-hour show that premiered in 2011, hosted by Scott Braun and various analysts, provides looks at day games in progress, batting practice, recaps of the previous day's action and previews of the upcoming contests. In 2012, ''The Rundown'' expanded to three hours. In 2013, ''The Rundown'' moved back to 2 hours. Replaced by Off Base in 2022. *

: Another show that premiered in 2011, using the traditional sports talk radio format hosted by Stephen Nelson and Kevin Millar about the events of the day and include interviews with players and managers. Currently, it airs Weekdays at 4 PM ET during the Regular Season. * High Heat: The series premiered March 31, 2014 and is hosted by Chris Russo with

Alanna Rizzo Alanna Janel Rizzo (born August 8, 1975) is an American sports reporter, who was part of the Los Angeles Dodgers broadcast team on Spectrum SportsNet LA from 2013 through 2020. She rejoined MLB Network in 2021. Biography Rizzo is a native of C ...

as co-host. It airs Monday–Friday year-round. * MLB Central: A 3 to 4-hour news magazine-style show that currently, airs weekdays at 9 AM ET and is co-hosted by Lauren Shehadi,

Mark DeRosa Mark Thomas DeRosa (born February 26, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2013. He played for the Atlanta Braves (1998–2004), Texas Rangers (2005–2006), Chicago Cubs ...

, and Robert Flores. * Off Base: A one-hour show introduced in April 2022, specifically catered to young audiences with pop culture influences. Hosted by Lauren Gardner with Xavier Scruggs, Hannah Keyser and Keith McPherson serving as analysts. * Pregame Spread: A one-hour program hosted by Matt Vasgersian focused on

sports betting Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...

Other

* ''All Time Games'': Classic baseball games, shown in their original televised form. The premiere episode on January 1, 2009, was a

kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940 ...

of NBC's coverage of Game 5 of the 1956 World Series in which

Don Larsen Don James Larsen (August 7, 1929 – January 1, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher. During a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he pitched from 1953 to 1967 for seven different teams: the St. Louis Browns / Baltimore O ...

hurled the Fall Classic's only perfect game. The game included all original

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The ...

advertisements from the NBC coverage, and was framed by a sit-down interview by Bob Costas with Larsen and his catcher,

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but th ...

. * ''30 Clubs in 30 Days'': In February, the network embarked on a month-long tour of spring training camps with John Hart as host, coming from a different facility each day. * ''30 Clubs, 30 Report Cards'': A sequel to ''30 Teams in 30 Days'', in July, host John Hart looks back at predictions made during the spring and grades each team's performance thus far through the season. * ''30 Clubs, 30 Recaps'': The offseason version of the above which airs during ''Hot Stove'', premiered December 7, 2009, recaps each team's season and looks ahead to next season. * ''30 Games, 30 Clubs, 30 Days'': In 2010 and 2011, MLB Network aired 30 live regular season games, featuring all 30 teams, during the month of April. * ''Diamond Demos'': An instructional show featuring an expert in a certain aspect of baseball. Episodes have included infielding with

Ozzie Smith Osborne Earl Smith (born December 26, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Oz", Smith played shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, winning the National ...

, catching with

Joe Girardi Joseph Elliott Girardi (born October 14, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Girardi played the catcher position for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and St. ...

, outfielding with Torii Hunter, pitching with Jeff Brantley, and coaching with

Buck Showalter William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III (born May 23, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he served as manager of the New York Yankees (1992–1995), Arizona Diamondb ...

. The show premiered April 6. * ''October Classics'' is re-airings of World Series in their entirety. Each week a different series has been featured. * ''Prime 9'': A series devoted to the topic of the nine greatest in anything involved with baseball. The series in run in marathons on holidays such as

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

and

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

. * ''Studio 42 with Bob Costas'' is an interview show with prominent baseball figures. The premiere episode on February 5 was with

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief bas ...

about his new tell-all book '' The Yankee Years'', which has been regarded as controversial among Yankees players, especially

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

.Costas Joins MLB Network's Team
''Multichannel News'' February 3, 2009 Another famous episode featured an interview with Frick Award-winning announcer

Ernie Harwell William Earnest Harwell (January 25, 1918 – May 4, 2010) was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 seasons, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell called the acti ...

, his last television appearance before his death six months later. * ''Front Burner'': The channel's insiders have a round table discussion about the off-season, and take questions and comments from viewers via phone calls, emails,

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

and

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. * ''

Baseball IQ ''Baseball IQ'' is an American television game show airing on the cable channel MLB Network. The show debuted on January 24, 2012, and its first season ended on February 23, 2012, with the season championship. The show is hosted by MLB Network a ...

'': A

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

hosted by Matt Vasgersian in which two participants answer baseball trivia for a chance to win up to $45,000 for charity. * ''World Baseball Classic Tonight'': A show similar to ''MLB Tonight'', ''World Baseball Classic Tonight'' features highlights, analysis and special reports on the tournament. * ''Inside MLB'': The series premiered November 11, 2013 and new episodes aired Mondays at 10 pm on MLB Network until January 2014. * ''Bleacher Features'': The network's presentation of baseball-themed feature films.

Documentaries

* ''

Baseball's Seasons ''Baseball's Seasons'' is an American television documentary series that was aired on MLB Network from January 7, 2009 until December 30, 2013. Each episode takes a look at a season in the history of Major League Baseball. The series is narrated ...

'': A documentary series set against the events of a certain baseball season. * ''Inside the Moments'': A series premiering January 2 that features memorable moments and the stories behind them. The first five episodes are "Aura of the Home Run", "Icons of the Game", "Unforgettable Feats", "Magic on the Mound", and "Fall Classic Finales". This show was originally produced by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

during the 2002 season as part of a promotion sponsored by MasterCard in which fans voted to determine the best moment in MLB history. * ''Pride and Perseverance: The Story of the Negro Leagues'': A one-hour special narrated by Hall of Famer

Dave Winfield David Mark Winfield (born October 3, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He is the special assistant to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Over his 22-year career, he pl ...

on the history of

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

prior to

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color lin ...

's debut on April 15, 1947. * ''Rising Sons'': A documentary on how Japanese players have adjusted to life in America. * ''We Are Young'', a story about Dmitri Young, Delmon Young, and their father, Larry Young. * ''Josh Hamilton: Resurrecting the Dream'': chronicles the life of

Josh Hamilton Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from to , most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers teams that won two consecutive Americ ...

. * ''The Pen'': followed the bullpen of the

2009 Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies' 2009 season was the 127th season in the history of the franchise. The team, managed by Charlie Manuel, began their sixth season at Citizens Bank Park and defense of their 2008 World Series championship on April 5. Aft ...

. * ''The Club'': followed the 2010 Chicago White Sox. * ''MLB Network Presents'': A series of hour-long films focusing on a subject in baseball, such as a former player or an event or team in baseball history. * ''MLB's 20 Greatest Games'': A series that originally aired in 2010 that counted down the greatest MLB games of the past 50 seasons, as voted on by fans on MLB.com. The episodes were hosted by Bob Costas and

, sitting down with the players or managers involved in either the game that was the focus of the episode, or the memorable moment from the game, while watching the original television broadcast of the game, providing their own input into the games and the moments, as well as how their careers and lives were changed by the game.

Repeats

* ''Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns'': The

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning documentary mini-series, which originally aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of ed ...

in 1994, was aired on MLB Network in 2009. * ''Cathedrals of the Game'': takes viewers on tours of MLB stadiums and explores the history of the team and city (originally produced by iNHD in 2005).

MLB Strike Zone

MLB Strike Zone is a channel launched on April 10, 2012, which allows viewers to see every game across MLB with up-to-the-minute highlights, live look-ins and updates, without commercials. The channel's format to similar to

NFL RedZone ''NFL RedZone'' (stylized as ''NFL RedZone from NFL Network'') is an American sports television channel owned and operated by NFL Network since 2009. As a "special" game-day exclusive, it broadcasts on Sundays during the NFL regular season from ...

and currently airs on Tuesday and Friday nights during the regular season. Though coverage often ends before most West Coast games start, those games are usually covered carousel-style on ''MLB Tonight'' on the main channel most evenings.

Matt Yallof Matt Yallof (born September 24, 1968) is an American sports commentator for MLB Network and NHL Network, where he debuted June 3, 2009. Yallof hosts the regular season studio show "The Rundown" and MLB Network Strike Zone. Yallof also appears on ...

is the current host of the show, which usually lasts about three hours. Strike Zone, along with MLB Network (which airs Strike Zone repeats) aired Tuesday and Friday night time baseball games. It airs MLB Network Showcase games with MLB Network.

International broadcast

''Strike Zone'' airs live in Canada on

TSN TSN may refer to: Science and technology * Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function * Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System * The Science Netwo ...

, Australia on ESPN Australia, Latin America on

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

, along with other countries.

Studios

The Secaucus-based studios have four main sets, three of which are named after hall of famers. "Studio 3", named in honor of

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

, serves as the home for the majority of the studio programs, while "Studio 42", honoring Jackie Robinson, is a half-scale baseball field where demonstrations by the network's analysts take place, along with interview programs where an audience is needed for atmosphere. Studio 42 is also the home of the early rounds of the

Major League Baseball Draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

. The studio includes seating for over 125 people, along with elements such as a functioning manual scoreboard and a standings wall for each league and division. With the launch of ''Intentional Talk'' in 2011, it was one of the first regular programs on television to use a remote production home studio setup on a regular basis, well before the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic necessitated it across the industry. If either host could not record in Secaucus, former host Chris Rose would record from a home studio in Los Angeles (the same with current co-host Stephen Nelson), while Kevin Millar records from his home studio in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, jocularly known as "Studio 1-5" for his uniform number. On November 12, 2012, MLB Network introduced a third set, "Studio K", for the new daily morning offseason show ''Hot Stove'' and guests analysts/insiders on ''High Heat''. During the premiere episode, hosts Matt Vasgersian and Harold Reynolds said that the studio was constructed from the building's mailroom, explaining its small size. After Rose left the network in 2020 and Stephen Nelson was named the new co-host of ''Intentional Talk'' in 2021, Nelson co-hosts the show from Studio K. In 2020 and again in 2021, due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, MLB Network Showcase games were called remotely from Studio K. In 2015, the network introduced a fourth set, "Studio 21", named in honor of

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early dea ...

. The studio hosts the shows ''MLB Central'', ''MLB Now'', and ''Quick Pitch'' along with the presentation of the BBWAA Awards. The network had planned to launch permanent studios from a new tower in Manhattan's

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

neighborhood by 2011.MLB Network's Harlem plans an unnecessary distraction
''Sports Business Journal'' August 4, 2008 However, because of the 2008 financial crisis, the building project was scaled back and later canceled in late November 2008, with MLB deciding on a permanent setup in Secaucus instead. With the August 2015 announcement that MLB Advanced Media would take over the digital properties of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

, it was announced that NHL Network would relocate its studios and operations to the facilities of MLB Network. The channel temporarily originated its studio programming from Studio K and Studio 21, until the completion of a dedicated studio in April 2016. In honor of the

NHL Stadium Series The Stadium Series is one of the series of regular season outdoor games played in the National Hockey League (NHL). This event is distinct from the NHL's other two series of outdoor games, the NHL Winter Classic and NHL Heritage Classic outdoor ...

playing at the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995, the park is located in Denver's Lower Downtown neighborhood, two blocks from Union Station. The sta ...

, a scale hockey rink was built on Studio 42 in February 2016 for cross-promotional appearances on NHL Network and MLB Network.

References

External links

Official mobile website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mlb Network Major League Baseball on television Television channels and stations established in 2009 2009 establishments in New Jersey English-language television stations in the United States Major League Baseball on NBC NBCUniversal networks Sports television networks in the United States Mass media in Hudson County, New Jersey Television stations in New Jersey Secaucus, New Jersey Companies based in Hudson County, New Jersey Turner Sports Warner Bros. Discovery networks