Microsoft Store
 

Major League Baseball television contracts


 

Monday Night Baseball

On October 19, 1966, NBC signed a three year contract with Major League Baseball. The year before, NBC lost the rights to the Saturday-Sunday Game of the Week. In addition, the previous deal limited CBS to covering only 12 weekends when its new subsidiary, the New York Yankees, played at home.

Related Topics:
October 19 - 1966 - NBC - CBS - New York Yankees

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Under the new deal, NBC paid roughly $6 million per year for the 25 Games of the Week, $6.1 million for the 1967 World Series and 1967 All-Star Game, and $6.5 million for the 1968 World Series and 1968 All-Star Game. This brought the total value of the contract (which included three Monday night telecasts) up to $30.6 million.

Related Topics:
1967 World Series - 1967 - All-Star Game - 1968 World Series - 1968

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From 1972-1975 NBC televised Monday games under a contract worth $72 million. In 1973, NBC extended the Monday night telecasts to from (with a local blackout) to 15 straight. Also in 1973, NBC launched the "celebrity in the booth" segment. Tony Kubek panned it at a network luncheon saying Cosell, Bobby Riggs, Danny Kaye? A great guy, but come on." One on NBC Monday Night Baseball broadcast, guest Howard Cosell began trashing baseball saying "No amount of description can hide the fact that this game is lagging insufferably." Kubek countered by saying "Baseball's athletes top everyone's." "No, my friend, try auto racing," smirked Cosell (which left Kubek almost speechless). On September 1, 1975, the last Monday Night Baseball game, in which the Montréal Expos beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5, was televised on NBC.

Related Topics:
1972 - 1975 - 1973 - Blackout - Tony Kubek - Cosell - Bobby Riggs - Danny Kaye - Auto racing - September 1 - Montréal Expos - Philadelphia Phillies - NBC

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ABC would pick up the television rights for Monday Night Baseball games in the following year. Just like with Monday Night Football, ABC brought in the concept of the three-man-booth (originally comprised of Bob Prince, Bob Uecker, and Warner Wolf as the primary crew) to their baseball telecasts. Said ABC Sports head Roone Arledge: "It'll take something different for it to work" - i.e. curb viewership yawns and lulls with Uecker as the real difference so Arledge reportedly hoped.

Related Topics:
ABC - Monday Night Football - Bob Prince - Bob Uecker - Warner Wolf - ABC Sports - Roone Arledge

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Prince disclosed to his broadcasting partner Jim Woods about his early worries about calling a network series for the first time. Prince for one, didn't have as much creative control over the broadcasts on ABC as he did calling Pittsburgh Pirates games on KDKA radio.

Related Topics:
Jim Woods - Pittsburgh Pirates - KDKA

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On the June 8, 1976 edition of Monday Night Baseball, Prince returned to Pittsburgh, where he had been exiled from for over a year. Although Prince received a warm reception, Prince was confused when the next day, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazettehttp://www.post-gazette.com/ read: "Ratings are low, negative reviews rampant."

Related Topics:
June 8 - 1976 - Pittsburgh - Ratings

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bob Prince was gone by the fall of 1976, with Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell, and guest analyst Reggie Jackson calling that year's American League Championship Series. (Warner Wolf, Al Michaels and Bob Uecker worked the NLCS.) On the subject of his dismissal from ABC, Bob Prince said "I hated Houston, and ABC never let me be Bob Prince."

Related Topics:
Keith Jackson - Howard Cosell - Reggie Jackson - American League Championship Series - Al Michaels - Houston

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Howard Cosell said of Bob Uecker that he "was the only person in the series to have his reputation helped." Cosell, who hated athletes-turned-announcers, considered Uecker to being the exception. Cosell gloated that "The man's bigger than the game, bigger than the team, bigger than the league, bigger than the sport. They talk about a new commissioner, if I had my pick, it would be you, Bob Uecker." Uecker replied by sighing and telling Cosell that he wished he "had the time."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1978, Baseball Hall of Famer Don Drysdale joined ABC Sports with assignments such as Monday Night Baseball, Superstars, and Wide World of Sports. According to Drysdale "My thing is to talk about inside things. Keith does play-by-play. Howard's role is anything since anything can happen in broadcasting." When ABC released and then rehired him in 1981, Drysdale explained it by saying "If there is nothing to say, be quiet." Ultimately, Drysdale seemed to be slowly phased out of the ABC picture as fellow Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer was considered ABC's new poster child " superior looks and...popularity from underwear commercials."

Related Topics:
1978 - Baseball Hall of Famer - Don Drysdale - ABC Sports - Superstars - Wide World of Sports - 1981 - Poster child

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The most memorable ABC Monday Night Baseball game occurred on June 28, 1976, when Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Mark Fidrych, a rookie who was endearing Motor City fans with such antics as grooming the mound and talking to the ball, became an instant national celebrity with a complete-game victory against the New York Yankees.

Related Topics:
June 28 - 1976 - Detroit Tigers - Mark Fidrych - New York Yankees

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other notable ABC regular-season Monday games include:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  • August 6, 1979, when the New York Yankees scored twice in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-4, on the same day they buried catcher and team captain Thurman Munson, who died in a small plane crash four days earlier. Yankees outfielder Bobby Murcer, who eulogized Munson at the funeral in Canton, Ohio, hours earlier, had all five RBIs.
  • August 10, 1981, when Pete Rose of the Philadelphia Phillies singled off Mark Littell of the St. Louis Cardinals for his 3,631st career hit, breaking the National League record of Stan Musial.
  • August 9, 1976, when John Candelaria of the Pittsburgh Pirates threw a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

    • On June 6, 1983, Al Michaels officially succeeded Keith Jackson as the #1 play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Baseball. Michaels, who spent seven seasons working backup games, was apparently very miffed over ABC Sports taking their sweet time with making him their #1 baseball announcer. Unlike Keith Jackson, whose forte was college football, Al Michaels had gigs with the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants before joining ABC in 1976. TV Guide huffed about Keith Jackson by saying "A football guy, on baseball!"

    Related Topics:
    June 6 - 1983 - ABC Sports - College football - Cincinnati Reds - San Francisco Giants - 1976 - TV Guide

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    By 1986, ABC only televised 13 Monday Night Baseball games. This was a fairly sharp contrast to the 18 games to that were scheduled in 1978. The Sporting News believed that ABC paid Major League Baseball to not make them televise the regular season. TSN added that the network only wanted the sport for October anyway.

    Related Topics:
    1986 - 1978 - The Sporting News

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    For most of its time on ABC, the Monday night games were held on "dead travel days" when few games were scheduled. The team owners liked that arrangement as the national telecasts didn't compete against their stadium box offices. ABC on the other hand, found the arrangement far more complicated. ABC often had only one or two games to pick from for each telecast from a schedule designed by Major League Baseball. While trying to give all of the teams national exposure, ABC ended up with way too many games between sub .500 clubs from small markets.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    In 1989 (the final year of ABC's contract with Major League Baseball), ABC moved the baseball telecasts to Thursday nights in hopes of getting leg up against NBC's Cosby Show. After braving the traumatic Loma Prieta earthquake and an all-time low 16.4 rating for the 1989 World Series Al Michaels took ABC's loss of baseball to CBS as "tough to accept." Michaels added that "baseball was such an early stepchild at ABC and had come such a long way." Gary Thorne, who served as ABC's backup play-by-play announcer in 1989 and was an on-field reporter for the World Series that year, simply laughed while saying "Great reviews, just as ABC baseball ends."

    Related Topics:
    1989 - Cosby Show - Loma Prieta earthquake - Rating - 1989 World Series - CBS - Gary Thorne

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ABC's Monday Night Baseball Announcers

See also

References

ABC and NBC Alternates Coverage of the All-Star Game, League Championship Series, and World Series: 1976-1989

Under the initial agreement with ABC, NBC, and Major League Baseball (1976-1979), both networks paid $92.8 million. ABC paid $12.5 million per year to show 16 Monday night games in 1976, 18 in the next three years, plus half the postseason (the League Championship Series in even numbered years and World Series in odd numbered years). NBC paid $10.7 million per year to show 25 Saturday Games of the Week and the other half of the postseason (the League Championship Series in odd numbered years and World Series in even numbered years).

Related Topics:
ABC - NBC - 1976 - 1979 - League Championship Series - World Series

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Major League Baseball media director John Lazarus said of the new arrangement between NBC and ABC "Ratings couldn't get more from one network so we approached another." NBC's Joe Garagiola wasn't very fond of new broadcasting arragement at first saying "I wished they hadn't got half the package. Still, Game, half of the postseason - we got lots left." By 1980, income from TV accounted for a record 30% of the game's $500 million in revenues.

Related Topics:
Ratings - Joe Garagiola - 1980

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On April 7, 1983, Major League Baseball, ABC, and NBC agreed to terms of a six year television package worth $1.2 billion. The two networks would continue to alternate coverage of the playoffs (ABC in even numbered years and NBC in odd numbered years), World Series (ABC would televise the World Series in odd numbered years and NBC in even numbered years), and All-Star Game (ABC would televise the All-Star Game in even numbered years and NBC in odd numbered years) through the 1989 season, with each of the 26 clubs receiving $7 million per year in return (even if no fans showed up). The last package gave each club $1.9 million per year. ABC contributed $575 million for regular season prime time and Sunday afternoons and NBC paid $550 million for thirty Saturday afternoon games.

Related Topics:
April 7 - 1983 - Playoffs - World Series - All-Star Game - 1989 - Prime time

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Breakdown:
  • 1983 - $20 million in advance from the two networks
  • 1984 - NBC $70 million, ABC $56 million, total $126 million.
  • 1985 - NBC $61 million, ABC $75 million, total $136 million.

    • Note: The networks got $9 million when Major League Baseball expanded the League Championship Series from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven in 1985.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  • 1986 - NBC $75 million, ABC $66 million, total $141 million.
  • 1987 - NBC $81 million, ABC $90 million, total $171 million.
  • 1988 - NBC $90 million, ABC $96 million, total $186 million.
  • 1989 - NBC $106 million, ABC $125 million, total $231 million.

    • In 1985, NBC's telecast of the All-Star Game out of the Metrodome in Minnesota was the first program to be broadcasted in stereo by a TV network.

    Related Topics:
    1985 - Metrodome - Minnesota - Stereo

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Also in 1985, ABC announced that every game of the World Series would be played under the lights for the biggest baseball audience possible. Just prior to the start of the 1985 World Series, ABC removed Howard Cosell from scheduled announcing duties as punishment for his controversial book I Never Played the Game. In Cosell's place came Tim McCarver (joining play-by-play man Al Michaels and fellow color commentator Jim Palmer), who was beginning his trek of being apart of numerous World Series telecasts. Prior to joining Al Michaels and Jim Palmer in the booth, Tim McCarver's most notable assignment for ABC Sports was working as a field reporter during the 1984 National League Championship Series (with Don Drysdale, Earl Weaver, and Reggie Jackson in the booth).

    Related Topics:
    1985 World Series - Howard Cosell - Tim McCarver - Al Michaels - Color commentator - Jim Palmer - ABC Sports - National League Championship Series - Don Drysdale - Earl Weaver - Reggie Jackson

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Reportedly, by 1985, Howard Cosell was considered to be difficult to work with on baseball telecasts. Apparently, Cosell and Al Michaels, got into a fairly heated argument following the conclusion of the their coverage of the 1984 American League Championship Series due to Cosell's supposed drunkenness among other problems. Rumor has it that Michaels went as far as to urged ABC executives to remove Cosell from the booth. Ultimately, Al Michaels went public with his problems with Howard Cosell. Michaels claimed that "Howard had become a cruel, evil, vicious person."

    Related Topics:
    1984 - American League Championship Series - Drunkenness

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

References

◄ Major League Baseball television contracts: NBC's Game of the Week
Major League Baseball television contracts: Major League Baseball on CBS-TV: 1990-1993 ►

~ Table of Content ~

►Introduction
►Baseball Firsts
►NBC's Game of the Week
►Monday Night Baseball
►Major League Baseball on CBS-TV: 1990-1993
►The Baseball Network: 1994-1995
►Baseball Comes to Fox
►Trouble at NBC: 1996-2000
►Sources

 

 

~ What's Hot ~

My Sister S Keeper, Ninja Assassin, Dear John, Where The Wild Things Are, Fantastic Mr Fox, 500 Days Of Summer, The Mummy 4 Rise Of The Aztec, Avatar, Twilight, 2012, Alvin And The Chipmunks The Squeakquel, The Ugly Truth, The Goods Live Hard Sell Hard, The Blind Side, Madagascar 3, The Boondock Saints Ii All Saints Day, The Princess And The Frog, New Moon, The Lovely Bones, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs,

~ Community ~

►History Forum
Come and discuss about History, Civilizations, Historical Events and Figures
►History Web-Ring
A community of sites, blogs and forums dedicated to History. Do not hesitate to submit your site.

Some of the information on this page come from a Wikipedia article
and are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Lexicon - Privacy Policy - Spiritus-Temporis.com ©2005.