
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
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
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
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
01/07/2025
The launch of Code of Silence, coupled with the Britains Got Talent semi final, gave ITV its best Sunday night of 2025.
The first episode of the new crime dr...
01/07/2025
ITV and Mammoth Screen have announced the start of filming for Betrayal, a gripp...
01/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies has delivered its second Bombardier Global 6500 missionize...
01/07/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., July 1, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its second quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, Ju...
01/07/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
01/07/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has rejected license challenges to three full-power Baltimore TV stations, renewing the licenses for Chesapeake...
01/07/2025
Dalet has released a new update to its Dalet Flex media workflow platform, introducing powerful new capabilities to its flagship platform....
01/07/2025
NEWARK, N.J. With the FIFA Club World Cup final rapidly approaching and the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup now less than a year away, interest in soccer in th...
01/07/2025
COW Job Listing: Laser Engraved Logo
Brie Clayton July 1, 2025
0 Comments
Laser engraved logo
July 1, 2025Steffie Beltt's Mi Amor Music Video Cr...
01/07/2025
LeGrow.Studio Builds Broadcast Hub for ePro League
Brie Clayton July 1, 2025
0 Comments
TEM Constellation HD and BlackmagicURSA Broadcast G2 drive liv...
01/07/2025
Beeble launches SwitchLight 2.0, bringing AI-powered relighting to any footage
Brie Clayton July 1, 2025
0 Comments
New AI model delivers full-scene p...
01/07/2025
Steffie Beltt's Mi Amor Music Video Created with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton July 1, 2025
0 Comments
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K digital film camera...
01/07/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement and Media Bureaus have entered into a consent decree with Sinclair to resolve a variety of in...
01/07/2025
DENVER Low-power television (LPTV) station owners looking to navigate the complexities of selling their assets in todays dynamic media environment are invited t...
01/07/2025
NASA announced today that live programming from its NASA+ channel will be available on Netflix starting sometime this summer....
01/07/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has appointed Katie McAuliffe to serve as policy advisor in his office....
01/07/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Alphabet's GFiber, the broadband provider formerly known as Google Fiber, has announced that it recently worked with Nokia to demonstr...
01/07/2025
NEW YORK, N.Y. DoubleVerify (DV) has announced the launch of DV Authentic Attention for Social. The product will first launch with Snap, the owner of Snapchat....
01/07/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has rejected license challenges to three full-power Baltimore TV stations and agreed to renew the license for C...
01/07/2025
Compact new converter lets users capture live NDI and streaming sources into software over a USB interface
Video interface and IP workflow innovator Magewell ...
01/07/2025
Disguise, the award-winning tech company driving visuals for Broadway and West End hits including Redwood, Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Disney's Fr...
01/07/2025
Vocal-processing plug-in joins NOIZ Hub series
Launched in 2024, KIT Plugins' NOIZ Hub series was created with the aim of providing a range of professio...
01/07/2025
New self-paced learning programme announced
Mastering.com have announced the availability of a new online course designed to cover the fundamentals of maste...
01/07/2025
Historic appointment ushers in unified leadership for WRAL-TV, New Media, and Digital Solutions
RALEIGH, N.C. - 6-27-25 - Capitol Broadcasting Company is prou...
01/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Spyrosoft's Jonathan Witty on Futher Business Exp...
01/07/2025
The NIL Effect: How the Shifting Business of College Athletics Impacts On-Campus...
01/07/2025
Cherry on the cake: Inside the technical production of the Tour de France 2025 w...
01/07/2025
NESN's Josh Jun on Keeping Alternative Broadcasts Fresh for Boston Red Sox, ...
01/07/2025
TNT Sports Races Back Into NASCAR With Fresh Look, Familiar Edge Production approach emphasizes creative freedom, bold storytelling, casual-fan-friendly tone B...
01/07/2025
cetecom advanced certifies Rohde & Schwarz test solution for the verification of...
01/07/2025
Back to All News
Watch: A Line Crossed: Netflix Drops Explosive Trailer for New...
01/07/2025
Tyngsboro, Mass. - June 30, 2025 - The 2025 ACM Annual Conference at Boston University was an energizing and inspiring gathering of community media professional...
01/07/2025
RT has announced that Teresa Smith has been appointed Commissioning Editor with responsibility for Factual Entertainment following a public competition. This s...
01/07/2025
This July, RT is delighted to support Galway International Arts Festival, Earagail Arts Festival in Donegal, Belfast TradFest and 23 other arts and cultural ev...
01/07/2025
In many parts of the world, including major technology hubs in the U.S., there's a yearslong wait for AI factories to come online, pending the buildout of n...
30/06/2025
There's nothing quite like the magic of finding music that feels made just f...
30/06/2025
When it comes to new music, Spotify's team of editors across North America is always on the hunt for songs that make them feel, think, and move. They're...
30/06/2025
SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel
30 June, 2025
Media releases
SBS is expanding its international news offeri...
30/06/2025
Star Studded Ensemble Cast Are Joined by Richard Rankin as Filming Begins on the Second Season
[June 12, 2025 - Boston, MA]: The Forsytes, Debbie Horsfield...
30/06/2025
The Artemis II Space Launch System core stage is integrated with the solid rocket boosters inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy S...
30/06/2025
RALEIGH, N.C. Capitol Broadcasting Co. has named Heather Gray vice president and general manager of WRAL-TV and WRAZ-TV here....
30/06/2025
The Virginia Association of Broadcasters has recognized Bill Sewell, Director of Engineering at WTKR & WGNT in Norfolk, Va. as the recipient of the 2025 J.J. Fr...
30/06/2025
The Society of Broadcast Engineers said its annual member drive resulted in the recruitment of 49 individual members....
30/06/2025
BURLINGTON, Mass. Avid today released its fully integrated news platform, uniting MediaCentral and Wolftech News in a single newsroom solution, and will demonst...
30/06/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communication's Enforcement and Media Bureaus have entered into a Consent Decree with Sinclair Broadcast Group to resolve a variety o...
30/06/2025
Eurorack sequencer module reimagined
California-based modular synth innovators Qu-Bit have announced the launch of a new module that offers a fresh new take...
30/06/2025
Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert The celebration will be held on July 10 in Perugia, Italy.
By
Colette Greenstein
June 30, 202...
30/06/2025
PremiumBeat Tips and Tricks
Brie Clayton June 30, 2025
0 Comments
When editing to impress, you'll need quality music, and if your studio happens t...