Home team’s local network and MLB Network pitch in during the 18-game schedule
Sunday morning just got a whole lot better. On Sunday, May 11 at 11:35 a.m. ET, MLB Sunday Leadoff on Roku will begin its 18-game schedule when the New York Mets host the final game of a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. MLB Local Media will be responsible for the platform’s production and operations, and, heading into its second year as the main supplier of these workflows, the league’s broadcast department is relying on the participating teams’ local broadcasters.
“A key part of this platform is to always elevate the broadcast,” says Doug Johnson, SVP/executive producer, local media, MLB. “Tapping into the local market is a strong differentiator from a lot of other shows, and we’re always looking at ways to expand that out.”
Roku Renaissance: Crew Works With Streamer for Return to the Diamond
MLB Sunday Leadoff starts its season with the Chicago Cubs at New York Mets on May 11.
Before Roku announced a media-rights deal with Major League Baseball for exclusive rights to MLB Sunday Leadoff in May 2024, MLB EVP, Local Media, Billy Chambers approached Johnson and VP, Technical Operations, Local Media, Kendall Burgess about a plan to cover these games. At the time, Johnson and Burgess were in the middle of launching the first full season of localized broadcasts for the Colorado Rockies. These games were in early April, and, with only five weeks to develop this strategy from scratch, MLB Local Media and Roku Media Head of Sports Joe Franzetta ironed out a simplified approach to making local broadcasts work. On the production side, local networks provide four essential elements: a play-by-play announcer or analyst from each team, one of the team’s sideline reporters, and the director of the home-team network’s broadcast.
The MLB Local Media crew heads to Citi Field for the first time since Miami Marlins vs. Mets on Aug. 18, 2024.
“[The Roku team] has been open to any production ideas that we’ve come up with for these shows, and they love pushing the envelope,” says Johnson. “I’ve always felt that the fans [like] hearing familiar voices on the broadcast, and it’s very turnkey to have the director who has been sitting in the lead chair for the first two games of the series.”
Operationally, to streamline the process, MLB Local Media replicated most of the workflow for the five teams — Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, and San Diego Padres — under its umbrella. This includes the home-team network’s onsite mobile unit; the camera operators, audio mixers, and other production personnel from the home team’s network; and MLB Local Media’s partnership with Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) and its master-control facility to distribute the games on The Roku Channel. Led by two previous members of the RSN community — Johnson had been with the former AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh; Burgess, with the former Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast — the MLB team understood both the inner workings of these broadcasts and the hard work the local teams do.
“We wanted to tap into the concept that the RSNs are good at what they do, and Roku was all for it,” says Burgess. “We’re able to work with Mobile TV Group and Game Creek Video for their mobile units and Program Productions for crewing since they already crew a majority of MLB games.”
Hometown Help: Local RSNs Provide Substantial Onsite Resources
MLB Sunday Leadoff games will use similar graphics as MLB Local Media’s regular-season broadcasts.
Fourteen networks will be in the mix on MLB Sunday Leadoff; the Detroit Tigers’ FanDuel Sports Network Detroit, Atlanta Braves’ FanDuel Sports Network South and FanDuel Sports Network Southeast, the Texas Rangers’ Rangers Sports Network, and Minnesota Twins’ Twins.TV will be involved in two games each. This Sunday, it will be SportsNet New York (SNY) in the spotlight at Citi Field in Flushing, NY. The Mets’ RSN will work from Game Creek Video Webby mobile unit and, as with MLB Local Media–driven broadcasts, will handle a significant part of the production.
Arizona Diamondbacks reporter Jody Jackson was in the dugout at Citizens Bank Park during Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies on June 23, 2024.
Given the localized approach, the technology will vary from game to game. For instance, some broadcasts will have a DEFY WireCam in the stadiums that have permanent rigs, and others may include shallow–depth-of-field cameras and live drones. Some MLB Sunday Leadoff broadcasts will have these bells and whistles, but all will have a standard camera complement: an RF camera, typical hard cameras, robotics, and POVs. Requests are made through the home-team network’s technical manager, and rental agreements are between MLB Local Media, the network, and the mobile-unit provider.
“We have our set of minimum [technologies] and will be able to plus-up some of their equipment,” says Burgess, adding, “Everyone has been really accommodating throughout the process.”
Arizona Diamondbacks reporter Jody Jackson was in the dugout at Citizens Bank Park during Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies on June 23, 2024.
On the personnel side, the broadcast will be handled by SNY Lead Game Director John DeMarsico and a trio of MLB Network staffers, who will travel to each game: Lead Game Producer Keith Costas, who replaced Ryan Sullivan, who recently became Orioles lead game producer at Mid-Atlantic Sports Network; Tape Producer Brian Gallagher; and Technical Operations Manager Megan Cain. For this first game, both Johnson and Burgess will be onsite.
Broadcast support is provided in Secaucus, NJ, by MLB Network VP, Engineering and IP, Jacob Soto; VP, Broadcast Operations and Network Origination, Karen Ganjamie; and their respective teams.
“The requirements for Roku are slightly different from our Local Media broadcasts, in which the Bitfire servers and SRT in our mobile units are valuable tools,” Ganjamie explains. “While our Local Media games have a more traditional commercial insertion, we’ve worked closely with Roku on a workflow that allows additional Dynamic Ad Insertion on their platform.”
On providing support for 18 games in different venues across the country, she adds, “In addition to our Ballpark Cam setup, the installation of Bitfire servers in each park has allowed even more robust flexibility to be leveraged by our Local Media broadcasts, and our Roku partnership is the next step in that evolution. That connectivity allows us to have graphics operators at our headquarters in Secaucus, with the broadcast trucks onsite in the park. Having forged such a successful partnership with CTS on the Local Media side, bringing the Roku broadcasts into the fold was a seamless integration.”
Sunday-Morning Fun: Production Offers Access With Real-Time Player Interviews
Boston Red Sox outfielder Tyler O’Neill was the first in-game interview during the MLB Sunday Leadoff debut on May 19, 2024.
MLB Local Media is responsible for its five teams and their individual audiences, but national viewership comes into play on MLB Sunday Leadoff. To allow both teams’ fans to learn something different about the opposing team, the games will once again feature live, in-game interviews with players on the field. Through IFB communication, the announcers speak with the player in real time about the game and their season.
Local talent team (from left) Will Middlebrooks, St. Louis Cardinals reporter Alexa Datt, and Chip Caray before the first-ever MLB Sunday Leadoff game, on May 19, 2024.
The approach proved its worth during the first inning of the platform’s debut matchup, the Boston Red Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinals on May 19, 2024. Red Sox outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who had played five seasons with the Redbirds, was returning to Busch Stadium for the first time since being traded in December 2023. “He agreed to wear a mic and was warming up in the on-deck circle,” says Johnson. “We talked to him for about 2½ minutes, and he told us what he was looking for [in the at-bat].”
As he walked up to the plate, play-by-play announcer Chip Caray and analyst Will Middlebrooks concluded the conversation. Three pitches later, O’Neill drilled a 92-mph fastball off Matthew Liberatore to deep left center field for a solo home run. “We were all cheering in the truck when it happened,” says Johnson. “It was an incredible way to start the season.”
In addition, for moments like these, sideline reporters will be allowed to leave the dugout and speak to the player to get their reaction.
Their Sunday Best: MLB Local Media Embraces Successes From Debut Season
As with any new broadcast package, MLB Local Media rode the learning curve during the first season of MLB Sunday Leadoff. Adjustments were made, and lessons were learned, and the opportunities for growth have been transformed into valuable knowledge in 2025. From an operational perspective, many learnings, including remote graphics integration, created positive momentum.
The MLB Local Media team: (from left) Ryan Sullivan; Brian Gallagher; SVP, Local Media, Greg Pennell; Kendall Burgess; Doug Johnson; and Coordinating Producer Tim Fryer after last year’s final MLB Sunday Leadoff game, on Sept. 15, 2024.
“There were some workflows that we actually implemented on the MLB Local Media side because we liked them so much,” says Burgess. “If we can start this Sunday’s game where we ended Game 18 last year, we’re going to be in great shape.”
The inclusion of local talent has allowed national baseball fans to hear the polished skills and impressive storytelling of announcers they don’t typically get to experience on a nightly basis. “We realized over time that it was the right decision,” says Johnson. “Giving Dan Dickerson, who’s a longtime radio play-by-play announcer for the Tigers, a game on television and having the fans react to seeing him on TV for the first time in a while was very rewarding.”
MLB Sunday Leadoff will continue with two more matchups this month: Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers on May 18 at 1:05 p.m. ET and Cleveland Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers on May 25 at 11:35 a.m. The platform will have five games in June, four games in July, and five games in August and will finish with Seattle Mariners vs. Atlanta Braves on Sept. 7 at 12:05 p.m.
link