Fox Sports Ops Team Set for Stacked Saturday With MLB London, Belmont Stakes, and Yankees-Dodgers Broadcasts
Back-to-Back-to-Back productions split Fox across the U.S. and U.K.
Story Highlights
Fox Sports has an absolutely loaded slate of productions split across two continents this Saturday: Game 1 of the Mets-Phillies MLB London Series, the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Springs, and the Game 2 of the Dodgers-Yankees powerhouse matchup in the Bronx. The pair of MLB broadcasts will be Fox’s biggest baseball productions to date this season, while its second consecutive Belmont Stakes production will have a unique twist as the race takes place at Saratoga Spring Race Course this year.
Coverage of Super Saturday, as Fox has dubbed the day, begins at 12:30 p.m. ET as the network’s MLB pregame show, led by veteran host Kevin Burkhardt, World Series Champion Alex Rodriguez and Hall of Famers David Ortiz and Derek Jeter, come together for a special edition live from the Bronx. In addition to preparing viewers for all the action throughout the day, the show features unprecedented behind-the-scenes access from Yankee Stadium, including Monument Park and more, plus a sit-down interview between Rodriguez and Mets standout Francisco Lindor.
Big Time MLB Shows on Both Sides of the Pond
In covering the second game of arguably the season’s most anticipated series, Fox will deploy its biggest production of the year Saturday’s for Dodgers-Yankees broadcast. In addition to rolling out its on-site studio show, Fox will have more than 30 cameras on hand to cover the action, including a live drone and an UmpCam. With 150 crew on site for the exclusive national broadcast, the show is equivalent to an MLB Postseason production. Fox will also have its top MLB mobile unit – Game Creek Video’s Yogi (A and B) – in the Bronx along with GCV’s Webby for the studio show.
Fox will also have its top MLB mobile unit – Game Creek Video’s Yogi (A and B) – in the Bronx along with GCV’s Webby for the studio show.
Across the pond in London, Fox’s Phillies-Mets broadcast at 1pm ET tomorrow will feature 22 cameras, including a live drone and plenty of specialty cameras from Fletcher. The operation will be a mix of on-site facilities from NEP and remote support from The Vault back at Fox’s L.A. broadcast center.
Until this weekend, the majority of Fox’s MLB coverage this season has been in partnership with local regional sports networks. Between this model and the national-game model deployed this weekend, Contreras says the season “is going very smoothly so far.”
Fox’s MLB London production relies on NEP facilities
“It’s great working with all the RSNs and nice to have a good relationship with them. Whenever they need anything from us, we are there to help. Whenever we need anything from them, they are there to help us, too.”
This weekend is just the start of an Fox Sports’ MLB crew’s high season with MLB at Rickwood Field coming up on June 20 in Birmingham, AL, and the MLB All-Star Game next month in Arlington, TX.
“I’m super excited,” says Contreras. “[MLB at Rickwood Field] will be similar to what we did for Field of Dreams. And All Star Game [at Globe Life Field] should be nice since we were just there for the Postseason. It’s a great building to work in. Overall, our baseball team has been working really hard on all three big summer baseball games. It’s nice to have an excellent operations team that can plan and make things easier for us.”
Belmont Heads to Saratoga
While this will be FOX Sports’ second consecutive year producing the Belmont Stakes, this year’s operation is markedly different thanks to a new locale. For the first time in history, the third leg of the Triple Crown will be held at Saratoga Race Course while Belmont Park undergoes renovations.
the third leg of the Triple Crown will be held at Saratoga Race Course while Belmont Park undergoes renovations.
FOX Sports’ action packed weekend of racing is already underway with America’s Day at the Races running from 12-6 p.m. ET on FS2 and continuing from 6-7 p.m. ET on FS1, providing live coverage and analysis from prominent races across the country.
America’s Day at the Races is back Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 PM ET on FS1, followed by Belmont Day on Fox from Saratoga at 4 p.m. ET. The broadcast network’s prerace show will feature coverage of multiple Grade 1 races, culminating in the 156th running of The Belmont Stakes.
Concurrently on FS1 at 4 p.m., America’s Day at the Belmont will provide an alternate telecast geared to the experienced horseplayer with in-depth handicapping for the final Triple Crown race. Following the conclusion of The Belmont Stakes, coverage continues on FS1 and FS2 with full programming details below.
Beginning at 4 p.m. with Belmont Day on Fox, the network’s prerace show coverage is anchored by veteran studio host Curt Menefee and analysts Tom Amoss and Richard Migliore. Hosting from the paddock, Charissa Thompson is joined by Fox Sports wagering expert Chris “The Bear” Fallica and handicapper Jonathon Kinchen, who will be providing up-to-the-minute wagering expertise. Emmy Award-winning reporter Tom Rinaldi returns to share stories from within and beyond the track. Racing analyst Maggie Wolfendale also reports live on horseback from undercard races and provides expert insight from the paddock. Finally, track announcer Frank Mirahmadi will be in the booth for his first call of the Belmont Stakes.
