With clubs locked in, Major League Baseball unveiled start times for early round games. ESPN opens up the action with Astros/Yankees tonight at 8p, while TBS spotlights Cubs/Pirates on Wednesday. Division Series games will open the round when the Rangers/Blue Jays face off starting Thursday at either 3:37p or 4:07p, depending on the winner of the AL Wild Card Game. Then, the Royals hosts the Wild Card winner either 7:37p or 8:07p with both of games carried by FS1. Friday action warms up at 12:45p with Rangers/Blue Jays on MLB Network, with the Royals game set for 3:45p on FS1, followed by a pair of games on TBS starting at 6:45p with Wild Card/Cardinals followed by Mets/Dodgers at 9:45p.
TBS, meanwhile, announced that its postseason MLB coverage will include elements such as: Live Vu, capturing “the sights and sounds from the road team’s city” and incorporating that team’s fan base into the game telecast; a newly designed broadcast booth, Sony HDC-4300 Cameras; Statcast powered by Amazon Web Services, player microphones, and Pitch Trax presented by Chevrolet. Meanwhile, studio shows offer viewers: virtual reality ballpark models; offensive and defensive information; virtual monitors; and NLCS On-Site Studio Shows. Meanwhile, Turner’s Postseason.TV will stream fans up to 10 live alternative camera angles for every game televised by TBS during the MLB Postseason including the NL Wild Card game, NL Division Series and NL Championship Series.
Continuing the theme, FOX Sports reports that the 2015 MLB regular season ended with boosts on multiple fronts, led by MLB on FOX game telecasts with a 16% spike in average viewers over 2014 numbers, hitting 2.2 million, while the Adult 18-49 demo rose 25% to a 0.5. FS1 contests drew a 22% average audience rise to 504,000. On FOX Sports’ RSNs, six different MLB teams ranked No. 1 in their respective markets in average primetime ratings, including the Diamondbacks, Tigers, Royals, Cardinals, Padres and Rays.
