Inside MLB Local Media's Launch of San Diego Padres Productions and What It Means for the Future New department is prepared for quick turnaround for other teams By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor Wednesday, June 14, 2023 - 3:12 pm
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Largely lost in all the media chatter surrounding the San Diego Padres' departure from Bally Sports two weeks ago was perhaps the most important factor: Padres fans didn't miss a single pitch. That's thanks to the seamless transition of broadcast operations from Bally Sports to Major League Baseball's new Local Media department despite an ultra-accelerated timeline.
In the Local Media Department, says Doug Johnson, SVP/executive producer, Local Media, MLB, we are excited we were able to deliver for our partner in the Padres. Our goal has always been to make sure the games are delivered each and every night to the fans, and we were able to do that under constant changing and crazy circumstances.
Although the league had been preparing for a situation like this even before Bally Sports parent Diamond Sports Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, the transition of Padres broadcasts was abrupt nonetheless. Just 24 hours after DSG officially missed its rights-fee payment to the Padres (negating the Bally Sports rights deal), MLB Local Media had taken over production of all the team's locally distributed games and was distributing them to multiple MVPDs and a new DTC service hosted by MLB.TV.
New Era for MLB Broadcasting: Building a Department From Scratch MLB's Local Media department officially started when the league hired Billy Chambers, previously CFO and COO of Sinclair Broadcast Group's RSNs, to run the operation in January and, in March, he brought in Johnson, Local Media SVP Greg Pennell, and VP, Local Media Technical Operations, Kendall Burgess.
Inside MTVG's 44FLEX mobile unit in San Diego during the first Padres game produced under MLB Local Media on May 31
Johnson and company knew that the turnaround would be quick if and when they had to take over broadcasts for an MLB team. So one of the first things they did was connect with the MLB Network team led by SVP, Production, Marc Caiafa; SVP, Creative Services, Chris Mallory; and SVP, Operations, Susan Stone.
It was an all-hands-on-deck situation, say Johnson. Chris and his creative team quickly built an entire look for us to use. They had to tailor the look to each individual team's color schemes. which took countless hours. Within two weeks, we had our first team package built and ready to get us on the air. It was amazing to be a part of such a [high-speed] turnaround like this.
As each week passed, the Local Media team continued to add more elements so by the time it took over the Padres broadcasts on May 31, it had a full arsenal of on-air elements ready to go live on a moment's notice.
It gave us time to add such things as the Bob Costas tease that we used to announce the beginning of this new era of Padres coverage, says Johnson. It was great to be in a position where we could start adding the cool elements that were built by [Director, Production,] Matt Ciancimino and his team at MLB Network. The line in the Costas tease about being backed by the power of Major League Baseball was not just a line. It was a reality we witnessed each day as we got up to 100% speed.
Part of the plan was to identify a master-control facility and distribution vendor. With guidance from Stone and her team and VP, Programming and operations, Eric Eisenberg, MLB Local Media selected Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS). In a short time, CTS was able to implement MLB's first local channel for the Padres with plans to add more as the need arises.
Lightning-Fast Turnaround: Ramping Up Productions in Miami, San Diego When Johnson and his team knew that the Padres situation was changing, they quickly formulated a plan to be in Miami for the Padres' three-game series with the Marlins just in case they needed to take over. Making matters even tougher was the fact that MLB and the Padres could potentially take over in the middle game of a three-game series on the road.
Because the entire Padres production team was in San Diego doing cloud-based shows, MLB Local Media brought in its own team to prepare to cover the two games. Johnson says MLB Network Senior Segment Producer Tim Fryer, who ended up producing the two games in Miami, and Senior Graphics Operator Tim Bausch were instrumental in the successful launch.
By the time we found out, late on Tuesday the 30th, that we were going to have the last two games, we were fully ready, says Johnson. Starting on the 30th, it was a whirlwind of meeting talent and finalizing our production plans. [Padres announcers] Don Orsillo, Mark Grant, and Bob Scanlan were incredible working with a new production team, and it led to a highly successful launch the night of the 31st.
After producing the first two games in Miami, the entire MLB Local Media group boarded a plane Thursday night and flew to San Diego. They launched home-game productions on Friday with the existing freelance crew that had served Bally Sports San Diego.
Producers Jason Lewis and Steve Rose and directors Zack Jensen and Tom Connole were 100% on board, says Johnson. I was amazed at how seamless it was on the first game and the entire first weekend. You could see the broadcasts grow as they got used to the elements.
After gaining back the Padres rights, MLB Local Media was able to secure, through a partnership with Program Productions Inc. (PPI), San Diego-based technicians, including the producers and directors at the front bench and the entire local technical crew. In addition, it tapped Mobile TV Group to provide live-production services, including the mobile unit - 44FLEX and
