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ESPN & ESPN2 To Televise MLB Draft Starting June 10

“This may be the only live Major League Baseball content ESPN has to offer in 2020 as the players and owners remain far apart on a financial agreement that would clear a path for a shortened 2020 season.”

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ESPN had a certified hit with The Last Dance. The network hoped that meant that there was an interest in sports documentaries during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the ratings for the first part of Lance proved that isn’t the case.

Now, ESPN is reaching a little further back in hopes of generating some ratings success. The last live event that ESPN aired that generated major ratings was the NFL Draft. The World Wide Leader is hoping that there is enough interest in Major League Baseball that its draft can produce similar success.

Starting June 10, ESPN will carry the first five rounds of Major League Baseball’s entry draft over the course of two nights. Round one will air on ESPN. Rounds 2-5 will air on ESPN2 on June 11. Just like the NFL Draft, MLB’s will be a mostly virtual affair, with all 30 MLB GMs connected via a video link in their home.

Karl Ravech will anchor the coverage from Bristol alongside MLB Draft expert Kiley McDaniel. Chris Burke, Jessica Mendoza, Jeff Passan, Eduardo Perez and Kyle Peterson will all provide analysis remotely.

This may be the only live Major League Baseball content ESPN has to offer in 2020 as the players and owners remain far apart on a financial agreement that would clear a path for a shortened 2020 season. Otherwise, it is hard to imagine the network would have interest in televising the draft.

Major League Baseball’s Entry Draft has been televised in the past by both ESPN and the MLB Network, but has never drawn strong ratings. College baseball doesn’t enjoy the national profile college football and college basketball though. That, combined with the number of prospects drafted right out of high school results in little interest in the event from anyone but hardcore baseball fans.

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Seahawks Add Kate Scott, KJ Wright to Preseason TV Crew

“Steve Raible and Dave Wyman will return for another season calling Seahawks games on the radio.”

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As hard as it is to believe, we’re a little over two months away from the start of the NFL preseason. As kickoff gets closer and closer, teams like the Seattle Seahawks are finalizing their preseason broadcast crews now.

The team announced on Wednesday that Kate Scott and K.J. Wright will join Michael Robinson in the booth for preseason coverage on KING 5.

Scott will handle play-by-play duties on the broadcasts. It’s her first season calling Seahawks games. She has plenty of prior play-by-play experience including doing 49ers preseason games on the radio in 2016. Additionally, Scott has previously called NBA, NHL and NWSL games, as well as broadcasting Olympic events. She currently serves as the television voice of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Wright is a Seahawks legend much like Robinson. The two were members of the team that won Super Bowl XLVIII. They both worked in the booth in Seattle for preseason games last year.

Steve Raible and Dave Wyman will return for another season calling Seahawks games on the radio. Jen Mueller will be reporting from the sidelines. Seahawks games are broadcasted locally on Seattle Sports 710 AM and KIRO Newsradio 97.3.

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Inside the NFL Headed To The CW For 2023

“We are excited to partner with NFL Films and welcome “Inside the NFL” to The CW Sports family.

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After being cut loose by Paramount+ earlier in the year, Inside the NFL has found a new home on The CW, premiering on September 5 at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST. The transition will mean the show is set to air on a broadcast network for the first time. It previously was carried by HBO and then Showtime. It will also be available to stream on The CW app and on cwtv.com.

The Emmy Award-winning series, which has been on the air since 1977, is centered around highlights and interviews from the previous week, with distinctive footage and audio supplied by NFL Films. It gives football fans an outlet to catch up on the action they might have missed, even though the scope of highlight shows is diminishing because of the advent of social media in an immersive content landscape.

“We are excited to partner with NFL Films and welcome Inside the NFL to The CW Sports family,” Dennis Miller, president of The CW, said in a statement. “For almost five decades, Inside the NFL has been an industry leader in showcasing can’t-miss weekly highlights, unprecedented behind-the-scenes content, exclusive access to players and lively discussion. By combining this premiere NFL content with our robust broadcast audience, we look forward to bringing this legendary sports series to more fans than ever before and to advertisers for the first time.”

Producers and hosts for the latest iteration of the show will be announced at a later date, and it will also have an impact on the fall programming schedule for the network itself. Recent editions of the show were hosted by James Brown and featured various former players, such as Brandon Marshall, Phil Simms and Julian Edelman.

“Generations of football fans have grown up watching Inside the NFL,” Ross Ketover, senior executive of NFL Films, added in a statement. “It is a show we cherish at NFL Films and we are thrilled to bring it to a great new partner in The CW. This is a special opportunity to reimagine and reboot Inside the NFL for a wider audience and a new generation of fans. We can’t wait to get started.”

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Frank Thomas Joins Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV+

“He will make his debut on June 9.”

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It didn’t take long for Frank Thomas to find a new gig. He is joining Apple TV+. He will make his Friday Night Baseball debut this week according to Front Office Sports.

Thomas’s role will involve multiple duties. He will conduct interviews with some of the game’s biggest stars. Those will take place on the field and in clubhouses before the games. He will also be in the booth for select games.

After FOX hired Derek Jeter to join its studio coverage of Major League Baseball, the network let Thomas go. He had been part of MLB on FOX since 2014. Royce Dickerson, who worked with “The Big Hurt” at FOX is now Apple’s executive producer for live sports.

Frank Thomas will not be available for Apple every week. He will be used on marquee matchups.

He will make his debut on June 9. Thomas will interview Mike Trout ahead of the Angels’ visit to Seattle to take on their division rivals, the Mariners.

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