The NFL has reigned supreme in recent years when it comes to televising games nationally, but baseball is attempting to cut in on the action.
Major League Baseball announced new television deals with Fox and Turner Sports on Tuesday, making eight-year contracts with both broadcasters official. The deals will go through 2021 and will bring in over $1 billion for the league.
"This is a remarkable day for baseball ... The value of these deals is a manifestation of how far this sport has come, and it's a reflection of how great a year we have had on the field," commissioner Bud Selig said Tuesday through MLB.com. "FOX and Turner have played a key role in our growth of baseball."
According to the release, Fox will keep coverage of the World Series, the All-Star game, as well as one league championship series each year. The deal adds rights to two Division Series rounds and doubles the amount of national games on Saturdays.
Fox has retained exclusive rights to the World Series since striking a deal in 2000.
"The new agreement not only keeps baseball jewel events like the All-Star Game and World Series on FOX, but we get to add two Division Series games and it basically doubles our postseason inventory, said FSMG co-president Eric Shanks. "It is with tremendous pleasure that we're able to extend and advance our relationship with Major League Baseball for another eight years. MLB, both nationally and regionally, has been part of our DNA here at FOX for a long time, and we're looking forward to working with MLB on many new initiatives that will grow and promote the sport in coming years."
Turner Sports will keep rights for one League Championship Series, both Division Series and one Wild Card game. The deal also gives rights for nationally televised afternoon games.
"Major League Baseball on TBS has very much been a staple of our programming foundation for more than 35 years and the network has been the home to so many memorable baseball moments over that time," said David Levy, TBS president of sales, distribution and sports. "When you look at the overall scope of television and digital rights that we acquired, this new agreement adds considerable value to our portfolio of sports offerings."
The MLB Network acquired rights for the All-Star Game Selection Show and also will keep the rights to two Division Series games.
"The addition of these games for us is really critical, shows the commitment of the Commissioner to the growth of the network," MLB Network CEO Tony Petitti said. "Obviously there is a relationship between strength of content and growth in distribution, and we feel this is a very important quality content to help in that task. ... it's an important showcase for us."
Other notable parts of the agreement include interactive TV rights for Turner and a new weekly show that will air on Fox and be produced by MLB Productions.
"With two days left it's been a remarkable year, and I couldn't have scripted it into what it has come down to these last four days," Selig said in a conference call to announce the deals. "We've seen a record-tying seven no-hitters, a potential Triple Crown season, an influx of incredible rookies ... just watching Mike Trout is exciting enough. Exciting races, leading to our first Wild Card games, and then the return of postseason baseball to our nation's capital for the first time in 79 years."
Major League Baseball also agreed to a deal with ESPN last month that runs through 2021 and will bring baseball up to $700 million.
"Both networks are passionate about baseball and are committed to covering, promoting and growing the sport, and I want to thank them for their continued support," said Selig.
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