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List of historical Major League Baseball television broadcasters

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Local

[edit]

American League

[edit]
Team Stations Years Pay TV Years
Baltimore Orioles WMAR 2 (CBS)/WJZ 13 (ABC)2
WMAR 2 (CBS)/WBAL 11 (NBC)/WJZ 13 (ABC)2
WJZ 13 (ABC/CBS)2
WBAL 11 (NBC)
WMAR 2 (CBS/NBC)
WNUV 54 (WB)
1954
1955-1957
1958-1961; 1964-1978; 19942017
1962-1963
1979-1993
2001-2006

Super TV
Home Team Sports
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
Mid-Atlantic Sports Network

1982-1983
1984-2001
2001-2006
2007-present

Boston Red Sox WBZ 4 (NBC)2/WNAC 7 (CBS; later WHDH)
WBZ 4 (NBC)2
WHDH 5 (ABC/CBS)
WBZ 4 (NBC/CBS)2
WSBK 38 (Ind/UPN)5
WABU 68 (Ind; later WBPX)
WLVI 56 (WB)
WFXT 25 (Fox)
1948-1954
1955-1957
1958-1971
1972-1974; 2003 (a handful of games)
1975-1995; 2003-2005
1996-1998
1999
2000-2002
New England Sports Network 1984-present
Chicago White Sox WGN 9 (CBS/Dumont/Ind/WB/CW)5
WFLD 32 (Ind/Fox)3
WSNS 44 (Ind)
WCIU 26 (Ind)
WPWR 50 (MNTV)
Chicago Sports Network (Ind)
19481967; 1981; 19902019
19681972; 1982-1989
19731980
20002014
20152016
2025-present

SportsChannel Chicago
Sportsvision (PPV)
ON TV (PPV)
Sportsvision (basic cable)
SportsChannel Chicago
Fox Sports Chicago
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
NBC Sports Chicago

1981
1982-1985
1984-1985
1986-1989
1989-1997
1998-2004
2005-2017
2018-2024

Cleveland Guardians WEWS 5 (CBS)
WXEL 8 (Dumont; later WJW)
WEWS 5 (ABC)
WJW 8 (CBS; later WJKW circa 1977-1979)
WUAB 43 (Ind/UPN)
WKYC 3 (NBC)
1948-1949
1950-1955
1956-1960
1961-1979
1980-2001
2006–2020's

Sports Time (not in Cleveland metro)
SportsChannel Ohio
Fox Sports Ohio
SportsTime Ohio
Bally Sports Great Lakes

1984
1990-1997
1998-2005
2006-2020
2021-present

Detroit Tigers WDIV 4 (NBC; formerly WWJ-TV)
WJBK 2 (CBS/Fox)3
WKBD 50 (UPN)5
WDWB 20 (WB; later WMYD)
1948-1952; 1975-1994
1953-1974; 2007; 2014–present
1995-2004
2006

ON TV
Pro-Am Sports System
Fox Sports Detroit
Bally Sports Detroit

1981-1982
1984-1997
1998-2020
2021-present

Houston Astros KTRK 13 (ABC)1
KPRC 2 (NBC)
KHTV 39 (Ind; later KIAH)5
KRIV 26(Ind)3
KTXH 20 (Ind/UPN/MNTV)
KNWS 51 (Ind)
KUBE 57 (Ind)
1962-1972
19731976
19771978 (with KPRC 2 on Sundays)
19791982
19831997; 20082012
19982007
2013–mid 2010's

Home Sports Entertainment
Prime Sports Southwest
Fox Sports Southwest
Fox Sports Houston
Comcast SportsNet Houston
Root Sports Southwest
AT&T SportsNet Southwest
Space City Home Network

1983-1994
1994-1996
1997-2008
2009-2012
2013-2014
2015-2017
2017-2023
2024-present

Kansas City Royals KMBC 9 (ABC)
KBMA 41 (Ind; later KSHB)5
WDAF 4 (NBC)
KSMO 62 (Ind/UPN)
KMBC 9 (ABC)/KCWE 29 (UPN)
KMCI 38 (Ind; Opening Day and Sunday away games)
1969-1971
1972-1979
1980-1991
1992-1997
1998-2002
2003-2007

Sports Time
Fox Sports Rocky Mountain
Royals Sports Television Network
Fox Sports Kansas City
Bally Sports Kansas City

1984
1997-2002
2003-2007
2008-2020
2021-present

Los Angeles Angels KCAL 9 (Ind; formerly KHJ)
KTLA 5 (Ind/WB)5
KPXN 30 (Pax)/KDOC 56 (Ind)
KCOP 13 (UPN/MNTV)
1961-1963; 1996-2005
1964-1995
2004
2006-2019

ON TV
SelecTV
Z Channel
SportsChannel Los Angeles
Prime Ticket
Prime Sports West
Fox Sports West
Bally Sports West

1977-1984
1985-1987
1988-1989
1989-1992
1993-1994
1995-1996
1997-2020
2021-present

Minnesota Twins WTCN 11 (Ind; later KARE)
WCCO 4 (CBS)2
KMSP 9 (Ind/Fox/UPN)35
WFTC 29 (Ind/UPN/MNTV)
KLGT 23 (Ind/WB; later WUCW)
KSTC 45 (Ind)
1961-1972; 1975-1978
1973-1974; 1989-1997
1979-1988; 1998-2002
1990-1993; 2005-2010
1994-1997
2003-2004

Spectrum
Midwest Communications (PPV)
Midwest Sports Channel
Fox Sports North
Victory Sports One
Bally Sports North

1983-1985
1987-1988
1989-2000
2001-2020
2004
2021-present

New York Yankees W2XBS, (NBC; later WNBT, now WNBC)4
WABD 5 (Dumont/Fox; later WNYW)3
WPIX 11 (Ind/WB/CW)5
WCBS 2 (CBS)2
WWOR 9 (UPN/MNTV)5
1939-1945
1946-1950; 1999-2001
1951-1998; 2015-2021
1965 (with WPIX 11); 2002-2004
2005-2014

SportsChannel New York
MSG Network
YES Network
Amazon Prime Video (Yankees home market only)

1979-1988
1989-2001
2002–present
2021-present

Oakland Athletics KBHK-TV 44 (Ind/UPN; later KBCW)
KTVU 2 (Ind)35
KPIX 5 (CBS)2
KRON 4 (NBC)
KICU 36 (Ind)
KOFY 20 (Ind)
1968-1972; 1992-1996
1973-1974
1975-1981; 1985-1992
19931998
19992008
2013–present

SportsChannel Bay Area
SportsChannel Pacific
Fox Sports Bay Area
Comcast SportsNet Bay Area
Comcast SportsNet California
NBC Sports California

1990-1991
1991-1997
1998-2007
2008
2009-2016
2017-present

Seattle Mariners KING 5 (NBC)
KSTW 11 (Ind/UPN/CW)5
KIRO 7 (CBS/UPN)
KAYU 28 (Fox; Spokane)
KXLY 4 (ABC; Spokane)
KONG 16 (Ind)
1977-1980
1981-1985; 1989-1993; 1999; 2003-2007
1986-1988; 1992; 1994-2002
1990
1991
2014–present

Prime Sports Northwest
Fox Sports Northwest
Root Sports Northwest

1994-1996
1997-2010
2011-present

Tampa Bay Rays WWWB 32 (WB/Ind; later WMOR)/WTSP 10 (CBS; Sundays)
WXPX 66 (Pax/I/Ion)
WTOG 44 (CW)
1998-2002
2003-2008
2014–present

SportsChannel Florida
Fox Sports Florida
Fox Sports Sun
Bally Sports Sun

1998-1999
2000-2010
2009-2020
2021-present

Texas Rangers KDTV/KXTX 39 (Ind/WB)
KDFW 4 (CBS/Fox)3
KXAS 5 (NBC)4
KTVT 11(Ind)25
KDFI 27 (Ind/MNTV)
KTXA 21 (Ind)
1972; 1995-2000
1973; 2001-2009
19741983; 1995-2000
1984-1994
2001-2009
2010–present

VEU
Home Sports Entertainment
Fox Sports Southwest
Bally Sports Southwest

1982
1983-1996
1997-2020
2021-present

Toronto Blue Jays CFTO 9
CTV
BBS
CBLT 5/CBC
CITY 57
CBLFT 25 (French)
CJMT 69 (Tagalog)
19771996
1977-1991
1992-1996
1992-2002; 2007-2008
2008 (Preseason only); 2015–present (select games)
1979
2013–present (Sundays)

The Sports Network
Sportsnet

1985-2009
1999–present

National League

[edit]
Team Stations Years Pay TV Years
Arizona Diamondbacks KTVK 3 (Ind)
KDRX 48 (later KDPH-LP)
KASW 61 (WB)
KPHE-LD 44
1998-2007
1998 (Spanish)
2003 (East Coast road games)
2007 (Spanish)

Fox Sports Arizona
Bally Sports Arizona
MLB Local Media
(distributed to cable providers and MLB.tv)

1998-2020
2021-2023
2023-present

Atlanta Braves WSB 2 (NBC)
WTCG 17 (Ind; later WTBS, now WPCH)5
1966-1971
1972-2011

SportsSouth
Fox Sports South
Bally Sports South
Turner South
SportsSouth
Fox Sports Southeast
Bally Sports Southeast

1991-2006
2007-2020
2021-present
2000-2006
2007-2015
2015-2020
2021–present

Chicago Cubs WGN 9 (CBS/DuMont/Ind/WB/CW)
WCIU 26 (Ind)
WLS 7 (ABC)1
WPWR 50 (MNTV)
1948–2019
20002014
2015–2019
2015-2016

Chicagoland Television
Fox Sports Chicago
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
NBC Sports Chicago
Marquee Sports Network

1995-1998
1999-2004
2005-2017
2018-2019
2020-present

Cincinnati Reds WLWT 5 (NBC)
WSTR 64 (UPN/WB)
WKRC 12 (CBS)
1948-1995
1996-1998
1999; 2010–present

Sports Time
SportsChannel Cincinnati
Fox Sports Ohio
Bally Sports Ohio

1984
1990-1997
1998-2020
2021-present

Colorado Rockies KWGN 2 (Ind/WB)5
KTVD 20 (UPN/MNTV)
1993-2002
2003-2008

Fox Sports Rocky Mountain
Root Sports Rocky Mountain
AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain
MLB Local Media
(distributed to cable providers and MLB.tv)

1997-2010
2011-2017
2017–2023 2024-present

Los Angeles Dodgers KTTV 11 (Ind/Fox)3
KTLA 5 (Ind/WB/CW)5
KCOP 13 (UPN)
KCAL 9 (Ind)
KDOC 56 (Ind)
1958-1992
1993-2001; 2017–present (selected games)
2002-2005
2006-2013
2014-2016

ON TV
Dodgervision
Z Channel
SportsChannel Los Angeles
Fox Sports West 2
Prime Ticket
Spectrum SportsNet LA

1977-1984
1985-1987
1988-1989
1989-1992
1997-2005
2006-2013
2014–present

Miami Marlins WBFS 33 (Ind/UPN)
WAMI 69 (Ind)
WPXM 35 (Pax/I)
1993-1998
1999-2001
2002-2005

Sunshine Network
Sun Sports
SportsChannel Florida
Fox Sports Florida
Bally Sports Florida

1993-1997
2006-2010
1997-1999
2000-2020
2021-present

Milwaukee Brewers WTMJ 4 (NBC)
WVTV 18 (Ind)5
WCGV 24 (Fox/UPN/MNTV; later WVTV-DT2)
WISN 12 (ABC)
WMLW-CA 41 (Ind; later WBME-CD)
WYTU-LD 63 (TMD; Spanish)
1970-1980
1981-1988; 1993-1997
1989-1992; 1998-2003; 2014–present
2003 (selected Sundays)
2007-2011
2003–present (Sunday home games)

Sportsvue
Wisconsin Sports Network
Midwest Sports Channel
Fox Sports North
Fox Sports Wisconsin
Bally Sports Wisconsin

1984
1996-1997
1998-2000
2001-2006
2007-2020
2021-present

New York Mets WOR 9 (Ind/UPN; later WWOR)5
WPIX 11 (WB/CW)5
19621998
1999–present

SportsChannel New York
Fox Sports New York
MSG Network
SportsNet New York

1979-1997
1998-2005
2002-2005
2006-present

Philadelphia Phillies WFIL 6 (ABC; later WPVI)1
WPHL 17 (Ind/WB/MNTV)
WTXF 29 (Ind/Fox)3
WPSG 57 (UPN/CW)
WPIX 11 (Ind; New York)
WCAU 10 (NBC)4
1959-1970
1971-1982; 1993-1998; 2009-2013
1983-1992
1999-2008
1958-1961 (affiliate)
2014–present

PRISM
SportsChannel Philadelphia
Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia
NBC Sports Philadelphia

1976-1997
1990-1997
1997-2017
2018-present

Pittsburgh Pirates KDKA 2 (CBS)2
WPXI 11 (NBC)
WPGH 53 (Fox)/WCWB 22 (UPN/WB; later WPNT)
1958-1994
1995-1996
1997-2001

Home Sports Entertainment
KBL Entertainment Network
Prime Sports KBL
Fox Sports Pittsburgh
Roots Sports Pittsburgh
AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
SportsNet Pittsburgh

1983-1984
1986-1993
1994-1996
1997-2010
2011-2017
2017–2023
2024-present

San Diego Padres KOGO 10 (NBC; later KGTV)
KCST 39 (Ind/NBC; later KNSD)4
XETV 6 (Ind)
KFMB 8 (CBS)
KUSI 51 (Ind/UPN)
KTTY 69 (WB; later KSWB)
XHBJ 45
KSEX 42 (Spanish)
1969-1970
1971-1972; 1984-1986
1977-1979
1980-1983; 1995-1996
1987-1994; 1997-2004 (Opening Day, Home Opener, and Sundays)
1995
1991-1993
unknown

San Diego Cable Sports Network
Prime Ticket/Prime Sports West
KCOX 4/ 4SD
Fox Sports San Diego
Bally Sports San Diego
MLB Local Media (distributed to cable providers and MLB.tv)

1984-1993
1994-1996
1997-2011
2012-2020
2021-2023
2023-present

San Francisco Giants KTVU 2 (Ind/Fox)35
KICU 36 (Ind)
KNTV 11 (NBC)4
19582007
1993 (co-coverage with KTVU 2)
2008–present

GiantsVision
SportsChannel Bay Area
SportsChannel Pacific
Fox Sports Bay Area
Comcast SportsNet Bay Area
NBC Sports Bay Area

1986-1989
1990-1991
1991-1997
1998-2007
2008-2016
2017-present

St. Louis Cardinals KSDK 5 (NBC; formerly KSD)
KPLR 11 (Ind/WB)
1948-1958; 1963-1987; 2007-2010
1959-1962; 1988-2006

Sports Time
Cencom Cable
Prime Sports Midwest
Fox Sports Midwest
Bally Sports Midwest

1984
1986-1989
1994-1996
1997-2020
2021-present

Washington Nationals WDCA 20 (UPN/MNTV)
WDCW 50 (CW)
WUSA 9 (CBS)
2005-2008
2009-2011
2012–present
Mid-Atlantic Sports Network 2005–present

Former teams

[edit]
Team Stations Years
Boston Braves WBZ 4 (NBC)2/WNAC 7 (CBS; later WHDH)
WBZ 4 (NBC)2
1948-1949
1950-1952
Brooklyn Dodgers W2XBS, (NBC; later WNBT, now WNBC)4
WCBS 2 (CBS)2
WATV 13 (Ind; later WNET)
WOR 9 (Ind; later WWOR)5
WPIX 11 (Ind)5/WABC 7 (ABC)1/WABD 5 (Dumont; later WNYW)3
1939-1945
19461949
1949
1950–August 16, 1953; 1954-1957
August 17, 1953-October 1, 1953
Kansas City Athletics WDAF 4 (NBC)
KCMO 5 (CBS; later KCTV)
1958-1961
1962-1967
Milwaukee Braves WTMJ 4 (NBC) 1962-1964
Montreal Expos CBMT 6
CFCF 12
SRC
TVA
TQS
TV Labatt
WAPA 45 (Ind; Puerto Rico)
1969-mid-1980s
mid-1980s-1991
1969-1999
1982
1995-1998
1987-1989
2003-2004
New York Giants W2XBS (NBC; later WNBT, now WNBC)4
WPIX 11 (Ind)5
WOR 9 (Ind; later WWOR)5
19391945
19471948
19491957
Philadelphia Athletics WPTZ 3 (NBC; later KYW)2
WCAU 10 (CBS)4
WFIL 6 (ABC; later WPVI)1
1947-1954
1948-1954
1949-1954
Seattle Pilots KING 5 (NBC) 1969
St. Louis Browns KSD 5 (NBC; later KSDK)
WTVI 54 (CBS; now KTVI channel 2)
1948-1952
1953
Washington Senators (original franchise) WTTG 5 (Dumont/Ind)3
WTOP 9 (CBS; later WUSA)
1948-1958
1959-1960
Washington Senators (expansion franchise) WTOP 9 (CBS; later WUSA) 1961-1971

See also

[edit]

1ABC owned television station.

2CBS owned television station.

3Fox owned television station.

4NBC owned television station.

5Superstation (bold indicates former superstation).

National

[edit]
Network Years Additional notes
DuMont 19471949 World Series only from 1947 to 1949
NBC 19471989
19942000
20222023
World Series and All-Star Game (beginning in 1950) only from 1947 to 1956 and 1965
Saturday afternoon Game of the Week from 1957 to 1964 and exclusively from 1966 to 1989
Monday Night Baseball games from 1967 to 1969 and 1972–1975
Part of a revenue sharing joint venture with Major League Baseball and ABC called "The Baseball Network" from 1994 to 1995
All-Star Game (in even numbered years) and postseason games only from 1996 to 2000
Weekly Sunday morning games from 2022 on (select games simulcast on NBC)
ABC 19481950
19531954
1960
1965
19761989
19941995
2020–present
World Series only from 1948 to 1950
Saturday afternoon Game of the Week from 1953 to 1954 and in 1960 and 1965 (exclusive coverage)
Monday Night Baseball games from 1976 to 1988
Thursday Night Baseball in 1989
Part of a revenue sharing joint venture with Major League Baseball and NBC called "The Baseball Network" from 1994 to 1995
Select regular season and Wild Card Series games from 2020 on (produced by ESPN).
CBS 19471950
19551965
19901993
World Series only from 1947 to 1950
Saturday afternoon Game of the Week from 1955 to 1964
New York Yankees games only in 1965
Sporadic, 16 game coverage of Saturday afternoon Game of the Week plus, exclusive network television broadcaster from 1990 to 1993
Fox 1996–present Saturday afternoon Game of the Week beginning on Memorial Day weekend from 1996 to 2006
Saturday afternoon Game of the Week for the full season since 2007
Exclusive network television broadcaster since 2001

Superstations

[edit]

Postseason coverage

[edit]

When the League Championship Series was first instituted in 1969, the Major League Baseball television contract at the time allowed a local TV station in the market of each competing team to also carry the LCS games. So, for example, Mets fans in New York could choose to watch either the NBC telecast or Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner on WOR-TV.

1983 marked the last time that local telecasts of League Championship Series games were allowed. In 1982, Major League Baseball recognized a problem with this due to the emergence of cable superstations such as WTBS in Atlanta and WGN-TV in Chicago. When TBS tried to petition for the right to do a "local" Braves broadcast of the 1982 NLCS, Major League Baseball got a Philadelphia federal court to ban them on the grounds that as a cable superstation, TBS could not have a nationwide telecast competing with ABC's.

Since 2007, MLB playoff games on TBS are not made available[1] to local over-the-air broadcasters in the participating teams' markets.[2] Under the previous contract, ESPN was required to make those games available on the air in local markets. As of 2023, Major League Baseball is currently the only "Big Four" league with regional broadcast rights whose entire postseason is exclusive to national television; the National Basketball Association playoffs and National Hockey League playoffs continue to air their first round games on both national and local television.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hiestand, Michael (2007-10-09). "Fox's Buck makes pitch for late show". USA Today.
  2. ^ Postseason exclusivity boosted the price for TBS. If MLB continued to allow local outlets to air their team's games, the rights would have been "significantly diluted", according to Neal Pilson, the former president of CBS Sports who now runs a broadcast consulting company. "The TBS sales people now can assure advertisers that this is the only place where people can see the games," Pilson said. "It's a judgment baseball had to make. It had to balance the revenue stream, which is formidable, against the loss of a certain number of homes."
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