Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 8, 1990 TAG: 9004080092
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But there's no other reason most baseball viewers should be downcast about the national pastime's new four-year plans that begin with a week-late Opening Day.
Viewers with cable - and more than 60 percent of the nation's homes and Roanoke-Lynchburg TV market are paying for tube time - will have at least two games available four weekdays and three telecasts on Sundays. Although CBS is televising only about half as many games as NBC has shown in recent years, even the number of Saturday telecasts, thanks to cable, will be increased.
If you are a cable subscriber in the Roanoke metropolitan area, you will have access to a scheduled 488 regular-season games this season. That's about 300 more than last year.
The increase is created by the new national cable package on ESPN, which will air at least six prime-time games per week, and the welcome addition of Chicago "superstation" WGN to Roanoke and Salem cable systems. WGN not only will televise 141 Cubs' games this season, but, for the first time, fills in around that schedule with 43 White Sox telecasts.
WDBJ (Channel 7) will carry the 16 CBS regular-season games, on 15 Saturdays and Sunday, Aug. 12. The Baltimore Orioles have two TV packages, and Lynchburg's WJPR (Channel 21) will carry 23 games from the Birds' over-the-air schedule. Home Team Sports, which is delivered by cable systems in Radford, Pulaski County and Martinsville, has 85 Baltimore games. Too bad more viewers aren't at least given a choice of HTS access by their monopolistic cable operators.
Atlanta's WTBS will show 105 Braves' games. New York's WWOR, which is on only a couple of regional cable systems, has 75 Mets' games.
ESPN's coverage, the first time since 1983 (USA Network) that baseball has had a national cable distributor, will give viewers a better feel for "the season" than they've ever had. The cable network will televise single games on Sunday and Wednesday nights, and doubleheaders on Tuesday and Friday nights. The "Baseball Tonight" studio show, especially when the knowledgeable Peter Gammons is contributing, has made an impact with fans.
The best facet of ESPN's coverage will be the cable network's ability to cut to any ballpark. If a pitcher takes a no-hitter into the ninth inning and ESPN is televising that night, you'll likely see the first hit or the last out.
Schedule flexibility on ESPN is also a plus. Although the Sunday night schedule is set - to be called by the intriguing team of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan - ESPN will select most other games seven days in advance. In the last three weeks of the season, ESPN may choose Tuesday and Friday games one day in advance and Wednesday games the Monday before. On the final two Sundays of the season, ESPN may add afternoon pennant-deciding games.
Viewers who complain about baseball's desertion of NBC's four-decade weekly deliverance for less over-the-air exposure and more cable growth have a hollow argument. Only about 10 percent of the nation's TV homes do not own satellite dishes and are not passed by cable. And many of the homes without cable availability are in large cities like New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, where fans can watch local, over-the-air telecasts of their teams.
According to a study by Broadcasting magazine, only 14 fewer games will be televised over the air - free TV - by clubs than in 1989. True, baseball is getting $365 million from CBS and ESPN this year, compared with $185 million from NBC and ABC last year, but most viewers who want to watch baseball have more games and more viewing potential than previously seen, too.
Monday's delayed Opening Day is an example of the increased viewing opportunities for baseball on Roanoke television. Last year, there was only one Opening Day telecast locally. WJPR picked up the Orioles' game from Baltimore's flagship station, WMAR. This year, local viewers have three games, and would have five if the ESPN backup telecasts didn't duplicate the WGN shows.
WJPR has the Birds' game with Kansas City on Monday afternoon at 2:30. WGN and ESPN has the Chisox's opener with Milwaukee in the afternoon and Cubs-Phillies at night. Regional viewers get ESPN's backup doubleheader, rather than the 2 1/2 games the network has been promoting for Monday, because Virginia is considered part of the Orioles' network region, and ESPN has blackout restrictions.
When the Orioles are scheduled to appear on ESPN and the game also is televised on Baltimore's over-the-air network or Home Team Sports, viewers in Virginia will receive ESPN's backup game (or games) that day or night. That rule will affect Roanoke-area viewers, even without Home Team Sports, or whether the Birds' game is on WJPR or not, because the blackout is based on the Orioles' entire network.
Simply put, if the Orioles play well and receive maximum exposure on ESPN - which will be selecting its game on a two-weeks-prior basis - their availability in this region without HTS will be more limited than it will in Richmond or other areas with HTS.
The baseball radio airwaves in the Roanoke Valley will be dominated by the Salem Buccaneers for the fourth straight season. WROV (1240 AM) will carry all 140 of the Bucs' Carolina League games, beginning Friday at 6:50 p.m. with the Municipal Field opener against Prince William.
"Diamond Dave" Newman will be back as the voice of the Buccaneers, his third season. This is also Salem's third season on WROV, after starting its broadcasts on WTOY (now WBNI) in 1987.
WFIR (960 AM) will again carry the CBS Radio Network broadcasts of the major leagues. CBS Radio has a new four-year, $50 million contract with baseball, and the number of regular-season broadcasts will increase from 26 to about 50.
WFIR will carry a game each Saturday (afternoon or night) of the season, have 20 Sunday night games, and games on Opening Day, Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day. Monday's Detroit-Boston opener starts at 12:50 p.m.
WFIR also will carry the Sunday night CBS baseball talk show, "Inside Pitch," starting tonight at 7:07.
by CNB