Wednesday Night Baseball
Wednesday Night Baseball was a live game telecast of Major League Baseball every Wednesday night during the regular season on ESPN that was broadcast from 1990 to 2021. Beginning with the 2022 Major League Baseball season, ESPN significantly reduced their MLB schedule, which included cutting most of their Wednesday Night Baseball games.
| Wednesday Night Baseball | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 32 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 3 hours (approximate) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ESPN (1990–2021) |
| Original release | April 18, 1990 – September 29, 2021 |
| Related | |
| Sunday Night Baseball Monday Night Baseball | |
On ESPN, the game started at 7:00 pm ET, following SportsCenter, and usually lasted around three hours with an hour-long Baseball Tonight following the game leading up to the 11:00 pm ET SportsCenter (1:00 am ET for September games with Baseball Tonight moving to ESPN2 at 12:00 am ET). Every April some broadcasts aired on ESPN2 due to ESPN's priority with Wednesday NBA coverage.
Wednesday Night Baseball was not exclusive, as it is usually blacked out in the teams' local markets, where the respective local broadcasters could still air the game, unless local broadcasters chose not to televise the game.
History
The program debuted in 1990, when ESPN first acquired MLB rights. From 2000 to 2005, broadcasts consisted of a doubleheader, usually airing the first game at 7:00 pm ET on ESPN and the second at 10:00 pm ET on ESPN2. The second part of the doubleheader was discontinued after 2005 season in favor of regular broadcasts of Monday Night Baseball.
Wednesdays also formerly included an afternoon game, called ESPN DayGame which aired typically at 12:30 pm or 1:00 pm ET on ESPN, making Wednesdays ESPN's primary day of baseball, as games aired both in the afternoon and in primetime. However, ESPN DayGame was also discontinued following the 2006 season.
In 2021, ESPN agreed to a new contract with Major League Baseball through the 2028 season. However, the deal included only around 30 exclusive broadcasts, most of which would take place on Sunday Night Baseball,[1] ending the regular broadcast of Wednesday Night Baseball.
References
- Hughes, Katie. "The Walt Disney Company, ESPN and Major League Baseball Reach Long-Term Rights Extension for Fully Exclusive, Marquee Schedule". ESPN Press Room (Press release). Retrieved 2021-05-23.