TBS, long known for its national telecasts of Braves games, has struck a deal with Major League Baseball to televise games not involving the Atlanta team for the first time, people familiar with the negotiations told the Journal-Constitution on Monday.
Under the deal, TBS is expected to get broadcast rights to baseball's division series games beginning next season and to weekly regular-season games beginning in the 2008 season.
The deal will broaden the baseball reach of a national cable channel whose Braves-centric telecasts once helped the club become known as "America's Team."
The new TBS deal and a separate extension of baseball's national television contract with Fox could be announced as soon as today in Pittsburgh, where baseball's All-Star game is being played.
TBS founder (and then Braves owner) Ted Turner began beaming Braves games across the nation on his fledgling cable superstation in the 1970s. But TBS gradually has scaled back its number of national Braves telecasts, from 150 at the peak to 70 this season.
The new MLB deal isn't expected to affect the 70 Braves games scheduled to be shown on TBS next season.
Atlanta-based TBS previously was scheduled to reduce its number of national Braves telecasts to 45 per season starting in 2008, and it is not clear how the MLB deal will affect the number of Braves games shown on TBS in '08 and beyond.
Braves games not shown on TBS will continue to be aired in the Southeast on regional cable channels Turner South and FSN South. Earlier this year, Turner Broadcasting — a division of Time Warner — sold Turner South to Fox Cable Networks, which also owns FSN South.
Three years ago, TBS attempted to give a more neutral feel to its Braves telecasts by briefly renaming them "MLB on TBS" and even more briefly benching longtime Braves announcers Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren from the national broadcasts. The duo was reinstated after a half-season.
The new deal will mark the first time TBS has had rights to any baseball playoff games. It is not known if the deal will include any postseason games beyond the division series round, or if it will include any playoff games this year.
Last year, MLB signed a new eight-year contract with ESPN that gives the cable network rights to up to 80 regular-season games per year.
TBS is available in about 90 million homes.
Under the deal, TBS is expected to get broadcast rights to baseball's division series games beginning next season and to weekly regular-season games beginning in the 2008 season.
The deal will broaden the baseball reach of a national cable channel whose Braves-centric telecasts once helped the club become known as "America's Team."
The new TBS deal and a separate extension of baseball's national television contract with Fox could be announced as soon as today in Pittsburgh, where baseball's All-Star game is being played.
TBS founder (and then Braves owner) Ted Turner began beaming Braves games across the nation on his fledgling cable superstation in the 1970s. But TBS gradually has scaled back its number of national Braves telecasts, from 150 at the peak to 70 this season.
The new MLB deal isn't expected to affect the 70 Braves games scheduled to be shown on TBS next season.
Atlanta-based TBS previously was scheduled to reduce its number of national Braves telecasts to 45 per season starting in 2008, and it is not clear how the MLB deal will affect the number of Braves games shown on TBS in '08 and beyond.
Braves games not shown on TBS will continue to be aired in the Southeast on regional cable channels Turner South and FSN South. Earlier this year, Turner Broadcasting — a division of Time Warner — sold Turner South to Fox Cable Networks, which also owns FSN South.
Three years ago, TBS attempted to give a more neutral feel to its Braves telecasts by briefly renaming them "MLB on TBS" and even more briefly benching longtime Braves announcers Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren from the national broadcasts. The duo was reinstated after a half-season.
The new deal will mark the first time TBS has had rights to any baseball playoff games. It is not known if the deal will include any postseason games beyond the division series round, or if it will include any playoff games this year.
Last year, MLB signed a new eight-year contract with ESPN that gives the cable network rights to up to 80 regular-season games per year.
TBS is available in about 90 million homes.
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