As we’ve completed the first year of a new MLB TV contract, one issue that the next Commissioner may have to address is the role of Fox Sports 1 in the postseason. Fox elected to put a majority of the MLB playoff games on cable, 10 out of 19 games this year and that included four of the five National League Championship Series games.
While the viewership on Fox Sports 1 helped to set records for the fledgling network, the numbers were down from last year when the NLCS was on TBS. The NLCS on Fox and Fox Sports 1 averaged 4.5 million viewers, down from 2013 when TBS averaged 5 million viewers.
Outgoing MLB Commissioner Bud Selig discussed Fox Sports 1’s role in the postseason with SiriusXM’s Chris Russo on Friday. Selig said he was concerned about fans not being able to find Fox Sports 1:
“The FS1 thing is something we’re going to have to review in the offseason; there’s no question about that. I really like Fox. They’ve been a great partner. And I know there was some concern although, frankly, it was interesting, I hear – a lot of mail, a lot of phone calls from people on a lot of subjects – I didn’t get a lot on that.”
Incoming MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred will have to deal with the Fox Sports 1 situation should the sport want to have the Fox broadcast network air the League Championship Series in full.
Selig told Russo after the bombastic talk show pressed him on Fox Sports 1’s distribution: “Look, I understand that and it’s something that we’ll take a look at.”
Next season, Fox will have the rights to the American League Championship Series. We’ll see if the Fox Television Network will air the ALCS in its entirety or if Fox Sports elects to stay the course and air it on FS1.
[Newsday]
Comments are closed.