<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=940 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD align=left><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Fox renews with MLB; TBS joins postseason lineup</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--startclickprintexclude--><TABLE height=25 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><!--endclickprintexclude-->Updated 7/11/2006 4:56 PM ET<!--startclickprintexclude--></TD><TD align=right><!-- EdSysObj ID="SSI-B" FRAGMENTID="13417811" rberthol --><!-- /EdSysObj --> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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After negotiating for more than a year, Fox Sports and Major League Baseball agreed Tuesday to a new seven-year TV deal — and MLB also agreed to give Turner Broadcasting System rights to cover all Division Series playoff games.
Now in the final year of a six-year deal in which it paid an average of $417 million per year, Fox will retain the World Series, All-Star Game and one League Championship Series each year in the new deal, which takes effect next season. Fox also will increase its regionalized Saturday afternoon regular-season coverage from 18 Saturdays to as many as 26, and get later start times — at 3:30 pm ET, as opposed to the current 1:00 pm ET.Fox will alternate between showing the American League and National League Championship Series by calendar year. It has not yet been determined which network will win the TV rights to the LCS Series that Fox doesn't show. ESPN and TBS are interested in carrying it, with Fox potentially interested in splitting that series with another network.
The new deal marks the first time TBS will carry postseason MLB action, as it inherits coverage of all first-round playoff games, which had been carried by a variety of networks, including Fox and ESPN. In the 2008 season, TBS will also discontinue its coverage of the Atlanta Braves, which it has carried since the 1970s. But TBS will add to its regular-season coverage by adding weekly Sunday afternoon games, with any individual team limited to 13 appearances.
Financial details of the new deals weren't disclosed.
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<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>swapContent('firstHeader','applyHeader');</SCRIPT><!--endclickprintexclude-->By Michael Hiestand, USA TODAYAfter negotiating for more than a year, Fox Sports and Major League Baseball agreed Tuesday to a new seven-year TV deal — and MLB also agreed to give Turner Broadcasting System rights to cover all Division Series playoff games.
Now in the final year of a six-year deal in which it paid an average of $417 million per year, Fox will retain the World Series, All-Star Game and one League Championship Series each year in the new deal, which takes effect next season. Fox also will increase its regionalized Saturday afternoon regular-season coverage from 18 Saturdays to as many as 26, and get later start times — at 3:30 pm ET, as opposed to the current 1:00 pm ET.Fox will alternate between showing the American League and National League Championship Series by calendar year. It has not yet been determined which network will win the TV rights to the LCS Series that Fox doesn't show. ESPN and TBS are interested in carrying it, with Fox potentially interested in splitting that series with another network.
The new deal marks the first time TBS will carry postseason MLB action, as it inherits coverage of all first-round playoff games, which had been carried by a variety of networks, including Fox and ESPN. In the 2008 season, TBS will also discontinue its coverage of the Atlanta Braves, which it has carried since the 1970s. But TBS will add to its regular-season coverage by adding weekly Sunday afternoon games, with any individual team limited to 13 appearances.
Financial details of the new deals weren't disclosed.
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