The return of the MLB London Series and the efforts of the MLB network ensure the `, BT Sport and others shine

Major League Baseball returns to London this weekend for two games between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals at London Stadium in Stratford, East London. And once again, MLB Network is on the ground in a big way, both for its own needs and in support of rightsholders around the globe.

“This is our second time in London and it’s just great,” he says Susan Stone, MLB Network, SVP, Operations/Engineering. “It’s great to see baseball continue to fuel the growth of the game internationally after the World Baseball Classic earlier this year, which was such a huge achievement that I’m also proud of.”

Jason Hedgcock, MLB Network, Senior Director, Remote Technical Operationssays MLB Network is on site at London Stadium in a dual role.

The grounds at London Stadium for this weekend’s MLB series between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals.

“We do our traditional support for our international rights holders and then also do both our own studio show coverage and match coverage for the ` here in the UK,” he explains.

While most rightsholders outside the US only have a few local news teams, both BT Sport and the ` have larger needs which the MLB team caters to viewers across the UK.

“We have a new relationship with the `, which is very important as we’ve been producing a number of games that are broadcast on the ` since last season,” says Hedgcock. “This is an important market for baseball.”

MLB has flown in its production team, while local technicians will also play a large role in production. “We meet a lot of great technicians who specialize more in rugby, football and cricket, so we had a lot of conversations about what to call this position and that and came up with camera plans,” adds Hedgcock. “The technicians on site are just phenomenal and incredibly dedicated and hardworking people. It’s very refreshing to see such passion for a sport they’ve never covered before and we’ve even had technical managers volunteer to be utilities just so they could be a part of it.”

In terms of game production, the MLB Network will use ESPN and Fox Sports host feeds for the international feeds. Changing standards is the greatest technical challenge.

“The three production units for BT Sport and the ` are all 1080/50i, so we have a feed wagon crammed with standard conversion equipment,” adds Hedgcock. “For the transmission, everything runs via the conversion trailer provided by NEP.”

The ` and BT Sport will bring their individual flair to the broadcasts via the on-air talent. From a technological point of view, the implementation of the standards is the greatest challenge.

“We have a great relationship with MLB Network talent Melanie Newman And Xavier Scruggs [who are assigned to the BBC feed], and they’ll be broadcast from the MLB booth, which will be exciting,” he says Samantha Calastro, MLB Network, Senior Production Manager/Operations. “We’re going to have fun with it too Felix White He is a cricket podcaster and also works with the ` as we are here in his home country. Previously he worked with us in New Jersey on the `’s first programme.”

According to Calastro, BT Sport will not only have its main commentary area for the game, but also a full presenter’s station with a desk near the stadium pitch.

“They can have rotating guests and provide coverage during commercial breaks,” says Calastro. “They have three cameras out there and the atmosphere is completely different.”

MLB Network will also feature an on-field set, a big step up from 2019 when there was a Chardonnay table.
“We’re going to have a great presence and that’s really exciting,” adds Calastro.

The biggest change since 2019 has been the increased way ` and BT Sport are covering the game.

Calastro adds, “We learned so much in 2019 when ESPN and Fox did their best to make it work. And now it’s really refreshing to have an idea of ​​what we need to do and everything is much more efficient.”

Stone says that in addition to programming efforts, MLB Network will also support all of the league’s technology initiatives, such as: B.Replay.

“We need to make sure the Instant Replay team has access to the same resources they would have if they were at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati,” says Stone.

(left to right) Lauren Shehadi, Robert Flores and Mark DeRosa are on location in London for MLB Network’s studio coverage of this year’s London Series between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.

MLB Network began broadcasting from London at 9am yesterday morning with MLB Network’s morning show, MLB Central Robert Flores, Mark DeRosa And Lauren Shehadi, live at Home Run House, a bar near the London Stadium. This morning they moved to the London Stadium and added new ones MLB Network analyst Albert Pujols to the talent mix.

MLB Tonight, meanwhile, will stream live on Saturday, June 24 at 12:00 p.m. ET and Sunday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. ET and again at 7:00 p.m. ET. Lauren Gardner And Bo Porter will moderate the Saturday edition, Matt Yallof and Porter will host the Sunday morning edition and Greg Amsinger And Over there, Alonso will moderate the Sunday evening edition. Correspondence hits from London are integrated into the MLB Tonight programs.

Additional credits for the rest of the team:

Stephanie Perone, Director, Remote Technology Operations
Jason LaManna, Chief Technical Officer
Chris Pfeiffer, VP Live Events
Adam Helfgott, Supervising Producer
Ben Friedfeld, Executive Producer, Field Production
Walter Lee, Acquisitions Manager
Jeff Hendrick, Technical Director Manager
Marc Caiafa, SVP Production
Ryan Sullivan, Game Producer
Jason Lobb, game director
Kelly Whittenour, Media Management Specialist
Kristen Wendland, Senior Director, League Projects
Daryl Martins, Director, International Programming & Ops (MLB)