ESPN can thank the Florida Marlins and Atlanta Braves for the network being shut out of MLB All Star Game festivities.
Because the Braves/Marlins game on July 1 ran long due to rain and extra innings, TBS was forced to delay its MLB All Star Selection Show by nearly two hours. Under the current television contract between baseball, News Corp., Turner and Disney, names of those who have made the All Star Game are not allowed to be disclosed until the TBS selection show is over.
Apparently, ESPN either forgot that, ignored it, or thought it did not apply because the show started so much later than it was scheduled. The network broadcast the names of those making the All Star Game within minutes of TBS making the announcements, and broadcast the National League roster using an Associated Press story.
As punishment for violating the agreement, baseball has severely cut down on the access ESPN will have to the All Star festivities. Outside of the Home Run Derby, which ESPN has the rights to, the network cannot “broadcast beyond an hour [from San Francisco] on Monday” and will have “limited access to hours before Tuesday’s game.” This will result in ESPN airing most of its All Star Game coverage from its Bristol headquarters. According to The Big Lead, “[t]he platform ESPN had built at the stadium for [Baseball Tonight] will now be used by photographers.”
This is not the first time that ESPN and MLB have engaged in a spat; in 1999, MLB was so incensed by ESPN shifting September Sunday Night Baseball games to ESPN2 that the league canceled the television contract and essentially canceled Baseball Tonight by prohibiting ESPN to have access to game highlights outside of SportsCenter.
