MLB Network revealed details of their new daily afternoon show Off Base, which premieres Monday, April 11th.
Hosted by Lauren Gardner, the show will feature panel discussions, a rotation of guests, and plenty of news and highlights from around the league. Front Office Sports reported last week that Gardner would be hosting the show.
From the MLB Network release:
MLB Network today announced that it will debut Off Base, a new regular season afternoon program, on Monday, April 11 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Hosted by Lauren Gardner, with panelists including Hannah Keyser and Xavier Scruggs, the daily program will originate from a reimagined set inside Studio 21. Off Base will mark the first daily studio program MLB Network has launched since its regular season morning program MLB Central debuted in 2015. In addition to Keyser and Scruggs, a rotation of guest panelists will be part of the program on a regular basis.
Off Base will offer a variety of perspectives, outside-the-box thinking, and a passion for baseball that will be infectious to the next generation of fans. Segments will include:
- Moving The Needle, covering the hottest stories of the day.
- Show Sauce, tapping into the latest in baseball culture and fashion.
- Wild Pitch, featuring lively discussions on ways to grow the game.
Moving younger with an afternoon show like this is a very smart move for MLB Network. Obviously a daily panel show on a cable network isn’t going to magically solve the sport’s problems attracting a younger audience. But if it can take a smart and loose approach to the sport throughout the year, that’ll be a big win.
Considering the talent involved, it seems like that should be very possible.
[MLB Network]
About Jay Rigdon
Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.