MLB Sunday Leadoff | |
---|---|
MLB Sunday Leadoff logo | |
Also known as | MLB on NBC MLB on Peacock |
Genre | Baseball telecasts |
Presented by | Jason Benetti Ahmed Fareed |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
Production | |
Production locations | Various MLB stadiums (game telecasts) NBC Sports Headquarters, Stamford, Connecticut (studio segments, pregame and postgame shows) |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 180 minutes (varies depending on game length) |
Production company | NBC Sports |
Release | |
Original network | Peacock NBC (select games only) |
Original release | May 8, 2022 present | –
Chronology | |
Related shows | Major League Baseball on NBC |
MLB Sunday Leadoff is an American presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by NBC Sports for the NBCUniversal-owned streaming service Peacock.
Peacock's coverage will include 18 Sunday regular season games during the 2022 MLB season, which will all have an 11:30 a.m. or 12:00 p.m. ET start time. It is NBC Sports' first national MLB package since 2000.
See also: History of Major League Baseball on NBC |
In March 2022, it was reported by The Wall Street Journal that NBC Sports was finalizing an agreement to establish a new package of Sunday afternoon games beginning in the 2022 MLB season. The package would be a successor to TBS's previous Sunday afternoon package during the later half of the season; as part of a contract renewal, TBS replaced these games with a new Tuesday night package across the entire regular season.[1]
As a prelude to the deal, Peacock had exclusively aired a June 2021 series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants. It was co-produced by NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports Philadelphia, and featured a broadcast team led by the Giants' lead play-by-play announcer Jon Miller and his partner Mike Krukow, joined by the Phillies' analysts John Kruk and Jimmy Rollins.[2][3]
NBC formally announced the deal on April 6, with a reported value of $30 million per-season.[4][5] As part of the agreement, Peacock will also carry the All-Star Futures Game, as well as an MLB content hub featuring classic games and other video content.[5][6]
On April 13, 2022, NBC Sports announced that the games would be branded as MLB Sunday Leadoff.[7]
The inaugural broadcast was a game featuring the Chicago White Sox at the Boston Red Sox on May 8.[4] The game was also simulcast on the NBC broadcast network, marking its first MLB broadcast since Game 6 of the 2000 American League Championship Series on October 17, 2000.[4][5] All other games will be exclusive to Peacock Premium subscribers.
The broadcasts were described as aiming for a "hyper-local telecast with a national flair". The games' on-air presentation builds upon that of NBC Sports' regional MLB coverage.[8] Former Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully (who served as NBC's lead play-by-play commentator for its MLB coverage from 1983 to 1989) narrated a special introduction for the first broadcast, emphasizing NBC's history as an MLB broadcaster (including its historic Game of the Week broadcasts).[9]
See also: List of Major League Baseball on NBC broadcasters and List of current Major League Baseball broadcasters |
Jason Benetti (who calls Chicago White Sox games for NBC Sports Chicago, and also worked NBC's telecasts of baseball during the 2020 Summer Olympics)[10] will serve as the lead by-play announcer for the games, joined by rotating analysts from each participating team.[11][12][9] Ahmed Fareed will serve as the studio host.[13]
The 2022 schedule has 23 of the 30 teams within MLB appearing at least once. Not appearing are the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers.
The games have an exclusive midday window, with the first games carrying an 11:30 a.m. ET scheduling, and later games having an 12:00 p.m. ET scheduling; on days scheduled for games on Peacock, no other MLB games will begin until at least 1:30 p.m. ET.[4][5]
Source:[19]