The summertime is the slowest time for sports and the biggest event and the only event going on in the major professional sports leagues in the middle of July is the MLB All-Star Game and it will be on FOX once again this week on Tuesday at 7:30 PM.
Main broadcasters Joe Buck and Tim McCarver will be announcing the game for FOX, which has the game for the 15th time and it will also mark the record 22nd and final time that McCarver calls the midsummer classic. Last season's NL win of 8-0 over the AL was a dud ratings wise and FOX is hoping for an improvement this year with names like Mike Trout, Miguel Cabrera, Manny Machado and Jose Fernandez in action.
Buck said that having new faces and new names in the game is a good thing and that many people will now get the chance to see some players play that they haven't all year in their local markets. Last season's game was the least watched game on record and this year the broadcast will spice things up with Ken Rosenthal and Erin Andrews doing on-field reports, as well as some special segments and other items.
Buck will sit down with Mariano Rivera before the game to start the broadcast and McCarver will do a special feature about his favorite moments from his years calling the game. FOX will also be promoting Fox Sports 1 very heavily as it is launching this summer and Buck will also give some thought about his partner, although they likely will be short and sweet as they save the big guns for the World Series.
McCarver is calling his 15th game with Buck and the two will have plenty of help in the production booth, as Fox will have 80 microphones at Citi Field and they also will have 25 high-definition cameras. The broadcast is expected to do well this years since it is in New York and Matt Harvey will likely be starting for the NL.
"The Mid-Summer Classic is still a jewel event of the summer," Shanks said. "At Fox Sports we look at it as a part of our total baseball business. We still have an extremely healthy regional local baseball business and very strong demand for our national business and strong demand for the All-Star Game. When you put it in context among all of the entertainment choices out there, it still completely rises to the top in the summer. Not just the All-Star Game, but baseball itself. The national game of the week on Saturday nights is winning the night against all networks in the demos. I feel that it's very healthy. I think people can take a look at ratings and ask questions about trends but overall we view our baseball business as very healthy."
