MLB Sunday Leadoff' 2025: MLB Local Media Pulls the Production, Operational Strings in Second Season on Roku Home team's local network and MLB Network pitch in during the 18-game schedule By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor Friday, May 9, 2025 - 7:00 am
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Sunday morning just got a whole lot better. On Sunday, May 11 at 11:35 a.m. ET, MLB Sunday Leadoff on Roku will begin its 18-game schedule when the New York Mets host the final game of a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. MLB Local Media will be responsible for the platform's production and operations, and, heading into its second year as the main supplier of these workflows, the league's broadcast department is relying on the participating teams' local broadcasters.
A key part of this platform is to always elevate the broadcast, says Doug Johnson, SVP/executive producer, local media, MLB. Tapping into the local market is a strong differentiator from a lot of other shows, and we're always looking at ways to expand that out.
Roku Renaissance: Crew Works With Streamer for Return to the Diamond MLB Sunday Leadoff starts its season with the Chicago Cubs at New York Mets on May 11.
Before Roku announced a media-rights deal with Major League Baseball for exclusive rights to MLB Sunday Leadoff in May 2024, MLB EVP, Local Media, Billy Chambers approached Johnson and VP, Technical Operations, Local Media, Kendall Burgess about a plan to cover these games. At the time, Johnson and Burgess were in the middle of launching the first full season of localized broadcasts for the Colorado Rockies. These games were in early April, and, with only five weeks to develop this strategy from scratch, MLB Local Media and Roku Media Head of Sports Joe Franzetta ironed out a simplified approach to making local broadcasts work. On the production side, local networks provide four essential elements: a play-by-play announcer or analyst from each team, one of the team's sideline reporters, and the director of the home-team network's broadcast.
The MLB Local Media crew heads to Citi Field for the first time since Miami Marlins vs. Mets on Aug. 18, 2024.
[The Roku team] has been open to any production ideas that we've come up with for these shows, and they love pushing the envelope, says Johnson. I've always felt that the fans [like] hearing familiar voices on the broadcast, and it's very turnkey to have the director who has been sitting in the lead chair for the first two games of the series.
Operationally, to streamline the process, MLB Local Media replicated most of the workflow for the five teams - Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, and San Diego Padres - under its umbrella. This includes the home-team network's onsite mobile unit; the camera operators, audio mixers, and other production personnel from the home team's network; and MLB Local Media's partnership with Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) and its master-control facility to distribute the games on The Roku Channel. Led by two previous members of the RSN community - Johnson had been with the former AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh; Burgess, with the former Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast - the MLB team understood both the inner workings of these broadcasts and the hard work the local teams do.
We wanted to tap into the concept that the RSNs are good at what they do, and Roku was all for it, says Burgess. We're able to work with Mobile TV Group and Game Creek Video for their mobile units and Program Productions for crewing since they already crew a majority of MLB games.
Hometown Help: Local RSNs Provide Substantial Onsite Resources MLB Sunday Leadoff games will use similar graphics as MLB Local Media's regular-season broadcasts.
Fourteen networks will be in the mix on MLB Sunday Leadoff; the Detroit Tigers' FanDuel Sports Network Detroit, Atlanta Braves' FanDuel Sports Network South and FanDuel Sports Network Southeast, the Texas Rangers' Rangers Sports Network, and Minnesota Twins' Twins.TV will be involved in two games each. This Sunday, it will be SportsNet New York (SNY) in the spotlight at Citi Field in Flushing, NY. The Mets' RSN will work from Game Creek Video Webby mobile unit and, as with MLB Local Media-driven broadcasts, will handle a significant part of the production.
Arizona Diamondbacks reporter Jody Jackson was in the dugout at Citizens Bank Park during Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies on June 23, 2024.
Given the localized approach, the technology will vary from game to game. For instance, some broadcasts will have a DEFY WireCam in the stadiums that have permanent rigs, and others may include shallow-depth-of-field cameras and live drones. Some MLB Sunday Leadoff broadcasts will have these bells and whistles, but all will have a standard camera complement: an RF camera, typical hard cameras, robotics, and POVs. Requests are made through the home-team network's technical manager, and rental agreements are between MLB Local Media, the network, and the mobile-unit provider.
We have our set of minimum [technologies] and will be able to plus-up some of their equipment, says Burgess, adding, Everyone has been really accommodating throughout the process.
Arizona Diamondbacks reporter Jody Jackson was in the dugout at Citizens Bank Park during Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies on June 23, 2024.
On the personnel side, the broadcast will be handled by SNY Lead Game Director John DeMarsico and a trio of MLB Network staffers, who will travel to each game: Lead Game Producer Keith Costas, who replaced Ryan Sullivan, who recently became Orioles lead game producer at Mid-Atlantic Sports Network; Tape Producer Brian Gallagher; and Technical Operations Manager Megan Cai
