A Decade of MLB Network: Baseball's Network Thrives as Secaucus Facility Continues to Grow Ten years after launch, MLB Network's operation is only getting bigger By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Wednesday, January 30, 2019 - 10:56 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Ten years ago this month, MLB Network officially went on-air in 50 million homes, marking the largest network debut in cable-TV history and the culmination of a monumental operational buildout. Despite an aggressive six-month timetable for the launch, MLB Network's Secaucus, NJ, facility was up and running in time for its planned New Year's Day 2009 debut.
MLB Network's Studio 3 at its Secaucus, NJ, headquarters
In the decade since, both the footprint of the Secaucus facility and the content it churns out have grown exponentially. From two studios at launch, MLB Network's home now has five studios spanning two buildings, and the network's annual slate of live programming has grown from 1,638 hours in 2009 to more than 3,400 in 2018. In addition, the facility has housed all NHL Network operations since 2015.
Beyond the studio, MLB Network's remote operations also have grown by leaps and bounds. Besides the weekly MLB Network Showcase game, the network has produced a dozen MLB Postseason games (beginning in 2012), carried three World Baseball Classics (splitting games with ESPN in 2009 and solely in 2013 and 2017), and established a significant onsite studio presence and now oversees the world-feed production at the MLB All-Star Game and World Series.
From Day 1, everyone at MLB Network has been working towards the same goal, which is to put a phenomenal product on the air, says MLB Network SVP, Operations and Engineering, Susan Stone, who was employee No. 10 in 2008. I think what has differentiated MLB Network from the beginning and what we're so proud of is that our on-air product is always at the forefront of everything we do. Our mantra is What is this going to look and sound like on-air and how is this going to best serve baseball fans?'
In the Beginning: Up and Running in Six Months
Just six months prior to launch date, Stone walked into what had been MSNBC's headquarters and began plotting what was to come.
MLB Network debuted on Jan. 1, 2009, with Bob Costas interviewing Don Larsen and Yogi Berra inside Studio 42, followed by the first showing of Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series since its original broadcast.
After MSNBC left, there was all this SD equipment just sitting around. It was really a ghost town, she remembers. It was hard to imagine that we would be able to launch an HD network in just six months.
Despite the hurdles, MLB Network debuted as scheduled at 6 p.m. ET on Jan. 1, 2009, with the premiere of Hot Stove followed by a pretaped show featuring Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series (the first time the game had been shown on TV since its original broadcast). The piece - which featured Bob Costas interviewing Larsen and his battery mate, Hall of Famer Yogi Berra - had been taped two weeks prior, which meant that Stone and company had MLB Network's Studio 42 up and running well before the launch date.
Studio 42 under construction prior to MLBN's launch on New Year's Day 2009
In February 2009, MLB Tonight debuted as the network's flagship primetime program, and Quick Pitch launched early in the 2009 season. All the while, the MLBN operations and engineering teams continued to build out the Secaucus facility on the fly.
It was a little bit of smoke and mirrors, Stone notes. We had so little time to launch that everything was not quite ready. We were still using a lot of tapes the first couple months just because all of our tapeless file-based workflows weren't fully up and ready yet. We worked long hours and extremely hard, she adds, but nobody batted an eye. That was the kind of attitude that we had coming in. We just wanted to make great television, and we were working our butts off to make that happen.
The Studio Operation in Secaucus: Feeding the Ever-Growing Content Beast
Over the past decade, MLB Network has grown from two studio shows - Hot Stove and MLB Tonight - to eight in 2019. The current lineup includes High Heat With Christopher Russo, The Rundown, MLB Now, MLB Central, Intentional Talk, and Quick Pitch (all of which saw year-over-year ratings increases in 2018).
Studio 42 continues to play a central role in MLB Network's programming today.
During the season, the network has five crews producing 16 hours of live studio/game programming per day out of five studios. Add in NHL Network's in-season average of seven hours per day, and Secaucus often churns out more than 20 hours of live programming daily.
After launching with Studio 42 (named in honor of Jackie Robinson) and Studio 3 (for Babe Ruth), MLB Network converted its mailroom into the ultra-flexible Studio K in 2012 (with a Ross Video Overdrive automated control room) as the home of its Hot Stove off-season morning show and several other MLBN programs. In 2015, the network took over the building next door and built Studio 21 (for Roberto Clemente), which is now home to MLB Central, MLB Now, and Quick Pitch. Prior to the 2016-17 NHL season, NHL Network erected a dedicated studio, The Rink, inside the same building as Studio 21.
Studio 3 while under construction in Secaucus
As always, it all starts with programming. As our number of shows has grown, we've continued to add new studios, says Stone. These were all massive construction and integration projects on very short timelines, but, today, they provide us with a lot of flexibility and allow us to be really nimble.
Key members of the studio-operations crew over the years include SVP, Production, Dave Patterson; Coordinating Director Mark Deav
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
15/06/2026
Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Mo...
14/06/2026
Library captures 1960s R&B/pop drum sound
Following on from their recent wave of plug-in effects, Iconic Instruments have just launched an all-new virtual d...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
A Decade of MLB Network: Baseball's Network Thrives as Secaucus Facility Continues to Grow Ten years after launch, MLB Network's operation is only getting bigger By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
