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MLB Sunday Leadoff

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MLB Sunday Leadoff
Also known asMLB on NBC
MLB on Peacock
GenreBaseball telecasts
Presented byAhmed Fareed
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
Production
Production locationsVarious MLB stadiums (game telecasts)
NBC Sports Headquarters, Stamford, Connecticut (studio segments, pregame and postgame shows)
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time180 minutes (varies depending on game length)
Production companyNBC Sports
Original release
NetworkPeacock
NBC (select games only)
ReleaseMay 8, 2022 (2022-05-08) –
present
Related
MLB on NBC

MLB Sunday Leadoff is an American presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by NBC Sports for the NBCUniversal-owned streaming service Peacock.

Peacock's coverage will include 18 Sunday regular season games during the 2022 MLB season, which will all have an 11:30 a.m. or 12:00 p.m. ET start time. It is NBC Sports' first national MLB package since 2000.

History

See also: History of Major League Baseball on NBC

In March 2022, it was reported by The Wall Street Journal that NBC Sports was finalizing an agreement to establish a new package of Sunday afternoon games beginning in the 2022 MLB season. The package would be a successor to TBS's previous Sunday afternoon package during the later half of the season; as part of a contract renewal, TBS replaced these games with a new Tuesday night package across the entire regular season.[1]

As a prelude to the deal, Peacock had exclusively aired a June 2021 series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants. It was co-produced by NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports Philadelphia, and featured a broadcast team led by the Giants' lead play-by-play announcer Jon Miller and his partner Mike Krukow, joined by the Phillies' analysts John Kruk and Jimmy Rollins.[2][3]

NBC formally announced the deal on April 6, with a reported value of $30 million per-season.[4][5] As part of the agreement, Peacock will also carry the All-Star Futures Game, as well as an MLB content hub featuring classic games and other video content.[5][6]

On April 13, 2022, NBC Sports announced that the games would be branded as MLB Sunday Leadoff.[7]

The inaugural broadcast was a game featuring the Chicago White Sox at the Boston Red Sox on May 8.[4] The game was also simulcast on the NBC broadcast network, marking its first MLB broadcast since Game 6 of the 2000 American League Championship Series on October 17, 2000, and its first regular season MLB broadcast since September 29, 1995.[4][5] All other games will be exclusive to Peacock Premium subscribers.

In Canada, where Peacock is not available, games featuring the Toronto Blue Jays are telecast by Sportsnet using its regular broadcast team. For all other games in Canada and in all other international markets, MLB Sunday Leadoff games are available live and on demand on the MLB.TV subscription service.

Production

The broadcasts were described as aiming for a "hyper-local telecast with a national flair". The games' on-air presentation builds upon that of NBC Sports' regional MLB coverage.[8] Former Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully (who served as NBC's lead play-by-play commentator for its MLB coverage from 1983 to 1989) narrated a special introduction for the first broadcast, emphasizing NBC's history as an MLB broadcaster (including its historic Game of the Week broadcasts).[9]

Personnel

See also: List of Major League Baseball on NBC broadcasters and List of current Major League Baseball broadcasters

Jason Benetti (who calls Chicago White Sox games for NBC Sports Chicago, and also worked NBC's telecasts of baseball during the 2020 Summer Olympics)[10] served as the lead by-play announcer for the first season, joined by rotating analysts from each participating team.[11][12][9] Ahmed Fareed would serve as the studio host.[13]

Benetti joined Fox Sports in August 2022; NBC has not yet named a replacement play-by-play announcer for future seasons.[14][15]

Schedule

The 2022 schedule has 23 of the 30 teams within MLB appearing at least once. Not appearing are the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers.

The games have an exclusive midday window, with the first games carrying an 11:30 a.m. ET scheduling, and later games having an 12:00 p.m. ET scheduling; on days scheduled for games on Peacock, no other MLB games will begin until at least 1:30 p.m. ET.[4][5]

In an August 2022 press release, the NBC Sports Group indicated a "full season" of MLB Sunday Leadoff in 2023, presumably meaning the schedule will feature more than the 18 weeks in 2022 and begin in April.[16]

2022 MLB Sunday Leadoff games
Date Visiting team Home team Color commentators Ref.
May 8 Chicago White Sox Boston Red Sox Steve Stone (White Sox), Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox) [17]
May 15 San Diego Padres Atlanta Braves Mark Sweeney (Padres), Andruw Jones (Braves) [18]
May 22 St. Louis Cardinals Pittsburgh Pirates Jim Edmonds (Cardinals), Bob Walk (Pirates) [19]
May 29 San Francisco Giants Cincinnati Reds Jon Miller (Giants, play-by-play)α, Shawn Estes (Giants), Barry Larkin (Reds) [20]
June 5 Detroit Tigers New York Yankees Jack Morris (Tigers), John Flaherty (Yankees) [21]
June 12 Oakland Athletics Cleveland Guardians Dallas Braden (Athletics), Rick Manning (Guardians)
June 19 Philadelphia Phillies Washington Nationals Ruben Amaro Jr. (Phillies), Kevin Frandsen (Nationals)
June 26 New York Mets Miami Marlins Cliff Floyd (Mets/Marlins), Tommy Hutton (Marlins)
July 3 Kansas City Royals Detroit Tigers No commentators β
July 10 Los Angeles Angels Baltimore Orioles Mark Gubicza (Angels), Ben McDonald (Orioles)
July 16 2022 All-Star Futures Game Scott Braun (play-by-play), Yonder Alonso (analyst), Jim Callis (analyst) and AJ Andrews (reporter) [22]
July 17 Kansas City Royals Toronto Blue Jays Rex Hudler (Royals), Dan Plesac (Blue Jays)
July 24 Chicago Cubs Philadelphia Phillies

Ryan Sweeney (Cubs), John Kruk (Phillies)

July 31 Detroit Tigers Toronto Blue Jays Dan Petry (Tigers), Pat Tabler (Blue Jays)
August 7 Houston Astros Cleveland Guardians Geoff Blum (Astros), Rick Manning (Guardians)
August 14 San Diego Padres Washington Nationals Mark Grant (Padres), Kevin Frandsen (Nationals)
August 21 Chicago White Sox Cleveland Guardians Postponed (Weather)
August 28 Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins Gaby Sanchez (Marlins), Tommy Hutton (Dodgers/Marlins)
September 4 Toronto Blue Jays Pittsburgh Pirates Kevin Barker (Blue Jays), Bob Walk (Pirates)

Source:[23]

Notes

^α Jon Miller filled in for primary play-by-play voice Jason Benetti, who instead called the Crosstown Classic between the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox on NBC Sports Chicago.
^β While there wasn’t a regular commentary team, Ahmed Fareed, Craig Monroe, and Britney Eurton did select commentary, mostly interviews, during the broadcast.

See also

References

  1. ^ Diamond, Lillian Rizzo and Jared (2022-03-11). "NBC's Peacock Is Finalizing Deal to Stream MLB Games in New Sunday Time Slot". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  2. ^ "Phillies-Giants series to be broadcast only on Peacock, for free". Awful Announcing. 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  3. ^ Kurtenbach, Dieter (June 14, 2021). "You won't be able to find SF Giants games on cable TV this weekend". The Mercury News.
  4. ^ a b c d Lucia, Joe (April 6, 2022). "Your 2022 MLB regular season broadcasting primer". Awful Announcing.
  5. ^ a b c d "MLB and NBC confirm 'US$30m a year' Peacock streaming deal". SportsPro. 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  6. ^ "Peacock's MLB package will be branded as 'MLB Sunday Leadoff'". Awful Announcing. 2022-04-13. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  7. ^ ""MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF" – PEACOCK AND NBC SPORTS REVEAL NAME AND LOGO FOR EXCLUSIVE SUNDAY MORNING BASEBALL PACKAGE". Comcast. NBC Sports Group Press Box. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  8. ^ Digital, Brandon Costa, Director of (2022-05-06). "NBC Returns to Baseball as MLB Sunday Leadoff Streaming Package Debuts on Peacock". Sports Video Group. Retrieved 2022-05-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ a b "RED SOX HOST WHITE SOX AT FENWAY PARK IN FIRST MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF GAME THIS SUNDAY, MAY 8 LIVE AT 11:30 A.M. ET ON PEACOCK & NBC". NBC Sports Group Press Box. May 4, 2022.
  10. ^ Rosenthal, Phil (June 3, 2021). "Jason Benetti is set to call Olympic baseball for NBC this summer, the latest broadcasting gig for the Chicago White Sox announcer". Chicago Tribune.
  11. ^ "NBC picks Jason Benetti and local analysts for Sunday MLB Peacock games". New York Post. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  12. ^ Feinsand, Mark (May 4, 2022). "Watch White Sox-Red Sox Sunday on Peacock". MLB.com.
  13. ^ "AHMED FAREED NAMED HOST OF MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF ON PEACOCK". Comcast. NBC Sports Group Press Box. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  14. ^ Clapp, Matt (July 24, 2022). "Jason Benetti reportedly leaving ESPN for Fox". Awful Announcing. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  15. ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (July 28, 2022). "Fox officially announces they've hired Jason Benetti". Awful Announcing. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  16. ^ "NBCUniversal, Big Ten Conference reach landmark 7-year agreement for NBC, Peacock to become exclusive home of "Big Ten Saturday Night" football". NBC Sports. August 18, 2022.
  17. ^ Finn, Chad (May 6, 2022). "Why are the Red Sox playing in the morning on Sunday, and what will the Peacock broadcast be like?". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  18. ^ Joe, Lucia (May 9, 2022). "Your MLB announcing schedule for 5/9-5/15". Awful Announcing. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  19. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Host St. Louis Cardinals on MLB Sunday Leadoff This Sunday, May 21 Live at 11:30 A.M. Et on Peacock; Pregame Begins at 11 A.M. ET on Peacock". NBC Sports Press Box. May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  20. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Host San Francisco Giants on MLB Sunday Leadoff This Sunday, May 29 Live at 11:30 A.M. ET on Peacock; Pregame Begins at 11 A.M. ET on Peacock". NBC Sports Press Box. May 26, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  21. ^ "New York Yankees host Detroit Tigers on MLB Sunday Leadoff this Sunday, June 5 Live at 11:30 A.M. ET on Peacock; Pregame Begins at 11 A.M. ET on Peacock". NBC Sports Press Box. June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  22. ^ Keeley, Sean (July 17, 2022). "Even MLB teams couldn't watch the All-Star Futures Game on Peacock". Awful Announcing. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  23. ^ "MLB on Peacock". peacocktv.com. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
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