Major League Baseball has its Heidi game — or, for a more recent example, its Preakness game.
Thanks to a lengthy rain delay, the Yankees/Red Sox telecast on FOX bled into the timeslot for NASCAR’s Subway Fresh Fit 500. FOX promised NASCAR fans it would switch to the race in time for the green flag, and move baseball to FX — a decision reminiscent of the one NBC made last year when it switched overtime of Sabres/Senators to Versus so it could air the Preakness pre-race show.
With two outs in the top of the ninth and the Yankees trailing by a run, FOX cut away from the game — which was being simulcast on FX at the time — in an attempt to catch the start of the NASCAR race. In the process, FOX ended up missing the end of Yankees/Red Sox and the start of the race, infuriating both baseball and NASCAR fans.
Generally, when dealing with overlapping games, networks stay with the first game to its conclusion. For example, last August ESPN stayed with a double-overtime WNBA game, pre-empting the start of a Nationals/Giants telecast. In this situation, FOX had little choice in the matter; the network is “contractually obligated to show its NASCAR races in full and in every market.”
This serves as a bit of a rude awakening for Major League Baseball, which has publicly disputed NASCAR’s assertion that it is the second-highest rated sport. That the biggest attraction in the sport could be bumped off of network television so America could watch the start of a race is a major statement on NASCAR’s popularity and clout — or baseball’s lack of, by comparison.
