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MLB.TV Including Team Pre, Postgame Shows Among New Features, Price Increase

As the 2022 season begins, 13 of MLB’s 30 clubs will have pre- and post-game coverage available on MLB.TV. The service hopes to add more throughout the season.

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Many baseball fans canceled their MLB.TV subscriptions before Feb. 28, either in fear of being charged for a 2022 season that might not be played or in protest of team owners locking out the players in a labor dispute.

But now that there will indeed be a 2022 Major League Baseball season, those same fans may be in the process of renewing their subscriptions before Opening Day on April 7. (Or earlier, for anyone who wants to watch some Spring Training games.)

The bad news? An MLB.TV subscription will cost more in 2022, as reported by The Streamable. The full service including all out-of-market games will increase by $10 to $139.99. A team-specific, out-of-market package will cost $119.99.

MLB and and team owners asking for more money after a 99-day lockout that seeded doubt and resentment among fans, and delayed the season by two weeks takes some nerve, right? But fans who sign up now can take advantage of a limited-time $10 discount, which means MLB.TV would cost the same price as last year.

(It should also be pointed out that local blackouts still apply and fewer games will be available on MLB.TV due to the league’s new exclusive streaming deals with Apple TV and Peacock.)

However, with that price increase comes some new features in this year’s subscription. Fans watching their team’s games out-of-market have often been disappointed and frustrated by not being able to watch pre- and post-game coverage that home viewers enjoy. (Once in a while, you might get lucky if someone at MLB headquarters was slow to push a button.)

But as the 2022 season begins, 13 of MLB’s 30 clubs will have pre- and post-game coverage available on MLB.TV. The service hopes to add more throughout the season, presumably aiming to get studio coverage for all 30 teams eventually.

For now, these clubs will offer pre-and post-game coverage:

Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves
Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland Guardians
Detroit Tigers
Los Angeles Angels
San Diego Padres
Seattle Mariners
St. Louis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays

Other new MLB.TV features will include the nightly whip-around show MLB Big Inning being available seven days a week, rather than just weeknights only. Updated streaming apps will also have new playback controls, personalized scoreboards, and in-game details. An expanded content catalog will include more MLB.TV original programming such as Vendors, MLB Carded, and Baseball Zen, along with on-demand highlights and features.

Is all that, plus the return of baseball, worth a $10 increase for you?

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Final ‘Good Morning Football’ Episode from New York Studio Airs Before Hiatus, Move to LA

After today, ‘Good Morning Football’ will take a brief hiatus, then move to LA. But outside of host Jamie Erdahl, who else will join the show on the West Coast?

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Good Morning Football

Today marks the last Good Morning Football episode to air from its New York studios on NFL Network. After today, the show will take a brief hiatus, then move across the country to Los Angeles. But which of the shows beloved cast members will move along with it?

We already know host Jamie Erdahl will be there once she gives birth to her child. The newest GMFB show member gave an emotional send-off to the show’s New York studios before announcing she was headed for maternity leave and would see everyone in LA.

Host Kyle Brandt delivered this message late last night, saying that viewers should tune in to he and his colleagues and that “he has a lot to say.”

Earlier this week, however, host Peter Schrager delivered his own goodbye message — one that may sound like a man who’s not ready to move his family across the country at a moment’s notice:

However, no hosts outside of Erdahl have given confirmation that they’re either staying or going.

The NFL’s move to take the show from New York to Los Angeles has been widely criticized by fans and media members alike. Bill Simmons wondered if the move wouldn’t spell just the end of GMFB but the NFL Network as a whole. It has some wondering if this is the end of football’s best show.

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ESPN Coverage of Men’s NIT Tournament Quarterfinals Up 33% vs. 2023

Viewership of the Men’s NIT Quarterfinals on ESPN were up 33 percent compared to last year and featured two games that averaged over one million viewers.

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Even the NIT is riding the recent hot streak of live sports viewership numbers. According to data provided by ESPN, the 2024 NIT Quarterfinals are up 33 percent compared to last year’s tournament. Perhaps more surprisingly, two NIT quarterfinal games topped one million viewers.

The network’s Georgia/Ohio State matchup averaged 1.03 million viewers, while the Cincinnati/Indiana State contest averaged 1.02 million viewers. These two games were the most-watched NIT games since 2017 — including title games. Both Georgia and Ohio State have rabid fanbases, while many thought Indiana State was unjustly left out of the March Madness tournament, which could be a reason why viewers tuned in.

Much of the focus this season has been on the women’s game, thanks to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, led by Dawn Staley. ESPN just had its most-watched women’s college basketball season since 2008-09 because of the increased interest in the women’s game. The men’s game, however, hasn’t been heralded as much this season for whatever reason, mostly because numbers seem to be holding steady compared to previous years. However, if the NIT is posting viewership wins, that should bode well for the NCAA Tournament’s incoming viewership totals.

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Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

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The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

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