- List of National League Division Series broadcasters
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The following is a list of the national television and radio networks and announcers who have broadcast the National League Division Series. It does not include any announcers who may have appeared on local radio broadcasts produced by the participating teams.
Contents
Television
2010s
Year Series Network Play-by-play Color commentators Field reporters 2011[1] Milwaukee Brewers/Arizona Diamondbacks TBS Victor Rojas Joe Simpson Sam Ryan Philadelphia Phillies/St. Louis Cardinals TBS Dick Stockton Bob Brenly (Games 1–4)
Ron Darling and John Smoltz (Game 5)[2]Craig Sager 2010[3] Philadelphia Phillies/Cincinnati Reds TBS Brian Anderson Joe Simpson David Aldridge San Francisco Giants/Atlanta Braves TBS Dick Stockton Bob Brenly Tom Verducci Notes
- TNT was scheduled to air three entire Division Series games in 2011 due to conflicts with TBS. On October 1, it aired Game 2 of the Tampa Bay Rays vs. the Texas Rangers at 7 p.m. ET, which overlapped with the end of Game 1 of the St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Philadelphia Phillies and the continuation of Game 1 of the Detroit Tigers vs. the New York Yankees on TBS. (The latter was also to have been Game 2, but Game 1 was suspended after 1 1⁄2 innings due to rain.) On October 2, it aired the rescheduled Game 2 between the Tigers and the Yankees at 3 p.m. ET, two hours before Game 2 of the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. the Milwaukee Brewers on TBS. On October 4, it aired Game 3 of the Diamondbacks vs. the Brewers at 9:30 p.m. ET, one hour after Game 3 of the Tigers vs. the Yankees started on TBS.
2000s
Notes
- ABC Family's coverage of the 2002 Division Series was produced by ESPN. The reason that games were on ABC Family instead of ESPN was because The Walt Disney Company (ESPN's parent company) bought Fox Family from News Corporation. The ABC Family/ESPN inherited Division Series package was included in Fox's then exclusive television contract with Major League Baseball (initiated in 2001). ABC Family had no other choice but to fulfill the contract handed to them. The only usage of the ABC Family "bug" was for a ten second period when returning from a commercial break (in the lower right corner of the screen).
- During the 2006 League Division Series on ESPN, Joe Morgan left Game 1 of the Dodgers-Mets series after six innings in order to call Game 2 of the Tigers-Yankees game that same night (October 4). However, the latter game was ultimately rained out.
- Turner Sports provided a provisional plan in which if a League Division Series game televised on TBS ran into the start of the next LDS game scheduled to air on TBS, then TNT would provide supplementary coverage of the latter games' early moments. To be more specific, all games in the Division Series round were presented back-to-back, with each game scheduled for a 3½-hour window. If a game exceeded this window, the first pitch of the next game would be switched to TNT. If a game ended within 3½ hours, the studio team would return for interstitial programming.
- In 2007, TBS switched the starts of four games to TNT in the Division Series round because the previous games exceeded the time limit. TNT was also scheduled to air Game 4 of the Diamondbacks-Cubs series, which overlapped with Game 3 of the Red Sox-Angels series, but the former game was not played; the night before, the D-Backs completed a three game sweep of the Cubs.
1990s
Notes
- 1995 marked the only year of postseason coverage provided by "The Baseball Network", which was a revenue sharing joint venture between Major League Baseball, ABC and NBC. "The Baseball Network" was also scheduled to cover the Division Series in 1994, but plans were scrapped when a strike caused the postseason to be canceled. All games in the first two rounds (including the League Championship Series) were scheduled in the same time slot for regional telecasts. Initially, under the alternating six year plan, ABC would cover the Division Series in even numbered years (as well as the World Series in even numbered years) while NBC would cover the Division Series in odd numbered years (in even numbered years, they would get the rights to the All-Star Game and League Championship Series).
- From 1996-2000, NBC aired LDS games on Tuesday/Friday/Saturday nights. Fox aired LDS games on Wednesday/Thursday nights, Saturdays in the late afternoon, plus Sunday/Monday nights (if necessary). Meanwhile, ESPN carried many afternoon LDS contests. At this point, all playoff games were nationally televised (mostly in unopposed timeslots).
1981
Year Series Network Play-by-play Color commentators 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers/Houston Astros[9] NBC Joe Garagiola Tony Kubek Montreal Expos/Philadelphia Phillies NBC Dick Enberg Tom Seaver Notes
- In 1981, as means to recoup revenue lost during a players' strike, Major League Baseball set up a special additional playoff round (as a prelude to the League Championship Series). ABC televised the American League Division Series while NBC televised the National League Division Series.[10] The Division Series round wouldn't be officially instituted until 14 years later. Games 1, 3 and 5 of the Phillies/Expos series and Games 2, 3 and 5 of the Dodgers/Astros series were regionally televised.
Radio
2010s
Year Series Network Play-by-play Color commentators 2011[11] Milwaukee Brewers/Arizona Diamondbacks ESPN Dave O'Brien (Games 1–2)
Chris Berman (Games 3–5)Rick Sutcliffe (Games 1–4)
Buck Martinez (Game 5)Philadelphia Phillies/St. Louis Cardinals ESPN Jon Sciambi Chris Singleton 2010 Philadelphia Phillies/Cincinnati Reds ESPN Jon Sciambi Dave Campbell San Francisco Giants/Atlanta Braves ESPN Chris Berman (Games 1–2)
Dave O'Brien (Game 3–4)Rick Sutcliffe 2000s
1990s
1981
Year Series Network Play-by-play Color commentators 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers/Houston Astros CBS Montreal Expos/Philadelphia Phillies CBS Jack Buck Joe Torre References
- ^ Fang, Ken (26 September 2011). "TBS Announces League Division Series Schedule From Friday Through Monday". Fangsbites.com. Wordpress. http://fangsbites.com/2011/09/tbs-announces-league-division-series-schedule-from-friday-through-monday/.
- ^ Fang, Ken (06 October 2011). "Ron Darling & John Smoltz Pull Double Game 5 Duty for TBS". Fangsbites.com. Wordpress. http://fangsbites.com/2011/10/ron-darling-john-smoltz-pull-double-game-5-duty-for-tbs/.
- ^ TBS Announces 2010 League Division Series Schedule & Announcer Assignments
- ^ "2003 NLDS". MLB.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/baseballs_best/mlb_bb_gamepage.jsp?story_page=bb_03nlds_gm5_chnatl. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ 1999 NLDS Game 1 - Mets at Diamondbacks on YouTube
- ^ "1996 NLDS". MLB.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/baseballs_best/mlb_bb_gamepage.jsp?story_page=bb_96nlds_gm3_stlsd. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ "1995 NLDS". MLB.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/baseballs_best/mlb_bb_gamepage.jsp?story_page=bb_95nlds_gm1_atlcol. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ 1995 MLB on NBC Promo (Divisional Playoffs).wmv on YouTube
- ^ "1981 NLDS". MLB.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/baseballs_best/mlb_bb_gamepage.jsp?story_page=bb_81nlwest_playoff_lahou. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ Henniger, Paul (October 3, 1981). "THE ARTS/TELEVISION". Los Angeles Times: p. C3.
- ^ Fang, Ken (26 September 2011). "ESPN Radio Announcing Assignments For 2011 MLB Postseason". Fangsbites.com. Wordpress. http://fangsbites.com/2011/09/espn-radio-announcing-assignments-for-2011-mlb-postseason/.
- ^ Madden, Bill (October 10, 1999). "FOR WILPON, ENDING IS EMOTIONAL". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/1999/10/10/1999-10-10_for_wilpon__ending_is_emotio.html.
Sources
- 1969-1975 MLB postseason TV schedule/announcers
- 1976-1984 MLB postseason TV schedule/announcers
- 1985-1993 MLB postseason TV schedule/announcers
- 1995-2000 MLB postseason TV schedule/announcers
- 2001-2006 MLB postseason TV schedule/announcers
- MLB Playoff Announcer Lists (TV and Radio)
External links
Categories:- National League Division Series
- Lists of major league baseball broadcasters
- ABC Sports
- Major League Baseball on Fox
- NBC Sports
- Turner Sports
- ESPN
- ESPN2
- ABC Family
- Lists of sporting event broadcasters
- ESPN Radio
- CBS Radio Sports
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