MLB Network: Baseball Sets Out To Create Its Own TV Home

MLB Network: Baseball Sets Out To Create Its Own TV Home

Major League Baseball does not believe there is enough baseball on television.

Not on local and regional TV. Not on Fox, ESPN, TBS or MLB.com.

It wants ubiquity, a 24/7 home, so it is building its own cable channel, the MLB Network, in Secaucus, N.J., with opening day scheduled for Jan. 1. The idea behind a league-owned network is not new. The N.F.L., the N.B.A. and the N.H.L. preceded baseball, but all share a goal: to feed a rabid fan base and to relentlessly promote their sport.

"We want to be the authentic home of baseball," said Tony Petitti, the president of the new network and the former No. 2 executive at CBS Sports behind Sean McManus. Petitti has never worked professionally in baseball, but he was a catcher at Haverford College (class of 1983).

His coach, Greg Kannerstein, who is now the college's dean, said Friday that Petitti was "a good catcher with a rifle arm" who, "if he had hit a little better, he'd have played major league baseball instead of televising it."

Unsuccessful talks between CBS and baseball two years ago led Petitti to the MLB Network. "He was incredibly thoughtful and honest in our discussions," said Tim Brosnan, baseball's executive vice president for business. "He's uniquely qualified."

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