Major League Baseball on ABC
| Major League Baseball on ABC | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sport |
| Developed by | ABC Sports |
| Directed by | Steve Danz Chet Forte Ken Fouts Craig Janoff Larry Kamm |
| Starring | Major League Baseball on ABC broadcasters |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Roone Arledge Geoffrey Mason |
| Producer(s) |
Bob Goodrich Curt Gowdy, Jr. Chuck Howard Peter Lasser Dennis Lewin |
| Editor(s) | Dean Hovell Conrad Kraus Pamela Peterson |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 180 minutes (or until game ends) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | April 12, 1976 – October 26, 1995 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
Major League Baseball on NBC Major League Baseball Game of the Week Monday Night Baseball Thursday Night Baseball Baseball Night in America |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| Production website | |
Major League Baseball on ABC is the de facto title of a program that televises Major League Baseball games on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The program has appeared in various forms c. 1953-1965 (ABC Game of the Week), 1976–1989 (Monday Night Baseball, Thursday Night Baseball, and Sunday Afternoon Baseball), and 1994–1995 (Baseball Night in America). ABC has not televised Major League Baseball since Game 5 of the 1995 World Series (October 26).
In 1953,ABC-TV executive Edgar J. Scherick (who later created Wide World of Sports) broached a Saturday Game of the Week, TV sport's first network series. At the time, ABC was labeled a "nothing network" that had fewer outlets than CBS or NBC. ABC also needed paid programming or "anything for bills" as Scherick put it. At first, ABC hesitated at the idea of a nationally televised regular season baseball program. ABC wondered how exactly the Game of the Week would reach television in the first place and who would notice if it did? Also, Major League Baseball barred the Game of the Week from airing within 50 miles of any ballpark. Major League Baseball according to Scherick, insisted on protecting local coverage and didn't care about national appeal. ABC, though, did care about the national appeal and claimed that "most of America was still up for grabs."
...
Wikipedia