Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Category: Television (Page 4 of 5)

Larry King to host Dodger show on SportsNet LA

Time Warner Cable Sports Headshots

By Jon Weisman

Longtime TV/radio host Larry King will take the helm of “Larry King At Bat,” where he will interview celebrities, baseball legends, Dodger personalities and other luminaries in a series of hour-long episodes on SportsNet LA.

The new series was announced tonight shortly after SportsNet LA launched with “Access SportsNet: Dodgers” and will premiere March 18 at 7 p.m., with Orel Hershiser as the interview subject.

“In addition to being a talented and renowned TV personality, Larry King is an incredible Dodger fan,” said Dodger president and CEO Stan Kasten. “We are so excited to officially bring him into the Dodger family.”

Said King: “With my love of sports and my interviewing skills, I think it will be a happy combo.”

SportsNet LA launch: Here it comes …

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By Jon Weisman

The 24/7 Dodger network that is SportsNet LA will launch at 7 p.m. Tuesday with the premiere edition of “Access SportsNet: Dodgers,” then provide a mix of news, interviews and history leading up to its first live game telecast Wednesday at 12 noon.

Channel Numbers“Access SportNet: Dodgers,” a nightly studio show, will have a special introduction Tuesday by Vin Scully and first-night guests including Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Tommy Lasorda, Don Mattingly and Adrian Gonzalez. It will then be followed at 8:30 p.m. by the first episode of “Backstage: Dodgers,” the program that will regularly go behind the scenes to give you a full picture of the franchise.

At 9 p.m. will be back-to-back half-hour editions of “Connected With …,” featuring extended one-on-one interviews with Clayton Kershaw and Don Mattingly, respectively. Then at 10 p.m. will be the premiere of “2013 Dodgers: A Whole New Blue,” a review of last year’s playoff-filled campaign that will include never-before seen footage.

Wednesday’s Spring Training game, against Arizona at Talking Stick in Phoenix, will be the first of 22 broadcast live by SportsNet LA, presaging the network’s regular-season presentation of more than 140 live broadcasts. From 4-7 p.m., SportsNetLA will climax its first 24 hours of business with the debut edition of “Timeless Dodgers,” featuring the June 3 MLB debut of Yasiel Puig.

SportsNet LA will be available to Time Warner Cable customers in the Los Angeles area in high definition on channel 431 and standard definition on channel 249. In addition, it was announced today that Bright House Networks had signed on to carry SportsNet LA to its Bakersfield customers, on channel 1107 in HD and channels 21 and 107 in standard. Time Warner Cable is in negotiations with all other providers for carriage.

For more information about SportsNet LA or to demand the network, visit www.ineedmydodgers.com. Consult the FAQ at the site for more information. Follow the network on Twitter at @SportsNetLA, Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SportsNetLA and Instagram at @SportsNetLA.

Thoughts from Charley Steiner ahead of his 10th season with Dodgers

SNLA crew at Town Hall

By Jon Weisman

Charley Steiner hasn’t gotten that much attention this offseason among Dodger announcers, given the spotlight on the new members of the Dodger broadcast team at SportsNet LA (Orel Hershiser, Nomar Garciaparra, Jerry Hairston, Alanna Rizzo and John Hartung) and the focus that rightfully always falls on Vin Scully.

But Steiner, believe it or not, is entering his 10th season as a Dodger play-by-play man (the only one who does 162 games a year in that role). It’s not only a milestone, it also dwarfs his tenure doing New York Yankee games and is beginning to catch up to his long-running stint at ESPN.

I always find Steiner a warm, positive presence, someone who enjoys the game and appreciates it but never takes it excessively seriously. So I took the opportunity before Monday’s Town Hall to chat with him for a few minutes.

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Steiner is always quick to credit Scully for inspiring his love for radio and career as a sportscaster.

“Radio was the first thing that attracted me to broadcasting,” Steiner said, “when I was 7 years old – listening to Vin, in New York.”

That’s why Steiner has always been comfortable even in years – unlike the coming year – when he has been paired with Rick Monday on radio and hasn’t done games for television. But he’s happy to switch between the two formats – and is eager to work with Hershiser on TV.

“It’s the difference between softball and hardball,” he said. “You still have to score runs, and you still have to put people on base. … In television, obviously, the picture tells the story, and in radio, it’s your responsibility to paint the picture. So we are backselling a play. Everybody has seen it, then it will be up to Orel to explain why we saw what we just saw, whether it’s a pitch or how a team is defending a given player. On radio, we have to do that all in a hurry.

“Orel is a really bright guy, who above and beyond the experience and career he had as a player, has coaching experience, front-office experience, television experience. His baseball IQ is way off the charts. So getting to work with him and getting to learn from him – we’ve spent a fair amount of time already in the offseason – it’s exciting. It’s exciting for me, that I’ll be able to just basically throw him BP fastballs and listen to him. He’s gonna be something.”

It won’t hurt that the Dodgers figure to be anything but dull in 2014. 

“This is just a wonderful confluence of events,” Steiner said. “Ownership. A franchise that has really been reborn. Then you throw into the mix this unbelievable television network that’s about to start.

“What I find so remarkable about beginning SportsNet LA is the people we are beginning it with. A: Vin – let’s set that aside. But the group that they’ve put together – Orel and I will get to do a ton of television games, and get to do a little with Nomar. Alanna’s a great talent; we all saw her at the MLB network. John Hartung has been in town forever and he’s just a perfectly cast quarterback – how’s that for a mixed metaphor – for the set. We’re working for and with one of the elite, iconic franchises in all of sports. We’re starting fresh and new with essentially an All-Star team. It’s hard to beat.”

Vin Scully to call Spring Training opener for SportsNet LA

Vin Scully is flanked by the Dodgers' Martin Kim and Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Vin Scully is flanked by the Dodgers’ Martin Kim and Hyun-Jin Ryu at FanFest.

By Jon Weisman

Vin Scully will call the Dodgers’ Spring Training opener February 26, the first of 19 consecutive days of exhibition game broadcasts for SportsNet LA after it launches February 25, leading up to the Dodgers’ departure for Australia.

The first Spring Training broadcast, one of four that Scully will call before the Dodgers play the Diamondbacks in Sydney, will begin at 12 noon Pacific. Scully will also do games on February 27, March 9 and March 16.

SportsNet LA will broadcast every Dodger Spring Training game, except when it broadcasts one of two split-squad games on March 8 and March 15. Counting the three games against the Angels on March 27-29, SportsNet LA will air 22 Spring Training games in all.

Glenn Diamond, a five-time Emmy winner and 31-year veteran in the business, including postseason experience with TBS, will produce the game broadcasts.

SportsNet LA also will launch hour-long live nightly show “Access SportsNet: Dodgers,” which will air at 7 p.m. Pacific during Spring Training. John Hartung will host the program, which will also feature Charley Steiner, Orel Hershiser, Nomar Garciappara, Jerry Hairston and Alana Rizzo. “Access SportsNet: Dodgers” plans to deliver comprehensive coverage of the team, showcasing the behind-the-scenes access of the new network.

Vin Scully will go to Australia

Los Angeles Dodgers Vin Scully is Grand Marshall of the Rose ParadeBy Jon Weisman

Good news from Up Over about Down Under …

Vin Scully told Steve Dilbeck of Dodgers Now that he will be in Sydney for the Dodgers’ Opening Series against the Diamondbacks in Australia.

… “They asked me to go because they’re the first games to be broadcast by Time Warner,” Scully said. “So I said, `Sure, I’ll go.’ ”

Scully said he would be in Phoenix Feb. 25 when the Dodgers’ regional sports network makes its debut and then broadcast the first spring games the next two days. He said he would return for one game against the San Francisco Giants on March 9 and return one week later for the final game in Phoenix, March16 against the Colorado Rockies before the team takes off for Sydney.

The Dodgers then return home to play an exhibition Freeway Series against the Angels, and Scully will broadcast the games March 27-28 at Dodger Stadium. That’s a lot of work and travel for the 86-year-old broadcaster.

“With ESPN doing the season opener in San Diego followed by an off day, so I’ll get two days off and should be fine,” he said. “I do love it, so I’ll give it a shot.” …

Want SportsNet LA? Go to ineedmydodgers.com

TWCSLA_Logo_loRESBy Jon Weisman

While SportsNet LA is set to air on Time Warner Cable when it launches February 25, it doesn’t mean that it won’t air on other distributors, such as DirecTV, Dish, AT&T U-verse, Cox, Verizon FiOS, Charter, Comcast. The network is actively seeking distribution of SportsNet LA with all of those providers.

If you’re eager to ensure that the 24/7 Dodgers channel airs on your home television, one click will take you somewhere to express that desire to your provider: ineedmydodgers.com.

You’ll also find a Frequently Asked Questions answer page there.

SportsNet LA officially set for February 25 launch

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By Jon Weisman

Today brings the official announcement that the new 24/7 Dodgers channel, SportsNet LA, will launch February 25, along with the official introduction of its on-air talent team: Orel Hershiser, Nomar Garciaparra, Charley Steiner, Jerry Hairston, Alanna Rizzo and John Hartung, along with of course the previously announced master of it all, Vin Scully.

In addition to televising more than 140 live regular season games and every Spring Training game (with the exception of split squads) in its inaugural season, SportsNet LA will air classic games, live studio shows, numerous original programs and more.

Scully will call all Dodger home games and road games for SportsNet LA in California and Arizona. Steiner and Hershiser will team up on the other SportsNet LA games, with Hershiser appearing on the pregame and postgame shows when Scully is broadcasting.

Steiner and Rick Monday will be the radio team for Dodger games that Scully is manning for television, following the simulcast portion.

Garciaparra (who will provide color commentary next to Monday’s play-by-play on the remaining road radio games) and Hairston will contribute to the pregame and postgame. Rizzo will host those shows from Dodger Stadium, while also serving as an in-game reporter for the Steiner-Hershiser telecasts.

Hartung will be the in-studio host for Sports Net LA’s live studio shows.

Time Warner Cable is committed to carrying SportsNetLA when it launches, and discussions are taking place with other distributors, such as DirecTV. To make your voice heard on this matter, visit sportsnetla.com or call your provider to tell them you need the network.

In the meantime, you can follow SportsNet LA on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

BroadcastTeam

Far be it from me to blog about TV

But I doubt that a TJ Simers inspired sitcom will be a ratings bonanza.

From Sports Business Journal:

“The series is about an old-school reporter in a medium that is quickly evaporating and a daughter who is a participant in the new media,” Tollin said. “Ultimately, it will be a comedy focused on their relationship and the relationship they never had because he was always on the road and was kind of an absentee dad. He’s kind of trying to make up for lost time. She’s trying to teach the old dog new tricks.”

There have been two successful sitcoms that have prominently featured sportswriters: The Odd Couple, which had the advantage of being based on a famous play and film and with great actors, and Everybody Loves Raymond, where the main character was a sportswriter who seemingly never left his own home.

I refuse to acknowledge the series My Boys as being successful or featuring a sportswriter who actually worked as a sportswriter does today.

 

 

Kershaw CLIX: Kershawr Wars

Congrats to my brother Greg, who will be an executive producer on the upcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels.

Dodgers at Brewers, 5:10 p.m.

Carl Crawford, LF
Mark Ellis, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, CF
Andre Ethier, RF
A.J. Ellis, C
Juan Uribe, 3B
Dee Gordon, SS
Clayton Kershaw, P


2011 Emmy preview

With the Emmy nominations coming Thursday morning and no Dodger game until Friday night, I’ve been trying to predict, for my own entertainment, which drama and comedy series will get 2011 Emmy nominations.

The comedy field might even be more crowded than the drama field this year, reversing recent trends. Here are some top contenders:

Comedy
“30 Rock” (a perennial)
“The Big Bang Theory” (last year’s most surprising omission)
“The Big C” (the hot new Showtime show often gets a long look)
“Community” (also beloved but perhaps only a cult favorite)
“Glee” (polarizing show creatively, but a nominee last year)
“Louie” (deserving but probably too narrow an audience)
“Raising Hope” (the best of a poor year for new broadcast comedies)
“Parks and Recreation” (critically beloved — this should be its year)
“Modern Family” (defending champ)
“Nurse Jackie” (nominated last year)
“The Office” (another perennnial: not as consistent as in past years, but its good episodes were great)

Drama
“Boardwalk Empire” (high-profile new HBO show, generally considered a success)
“Dexter” (nominated the past three years)
“Friday Night Lights” (still a longshot, but broke through with acting nominations last year)
“Game of Thrones” (fans are even more passionate about this HBO show)
“The Good Wife” (top broadcast network candidate)
“Justified” (critically beloved and represents FX well)
“The Killing” (hotly disputed finale might have left bad taste for some voters)
“Mad Men” (perennial that should have no trouble with “Breaking Bad” off the air this past year)
“Men of a Certain Age” (has its fans, but maybe not enough)
“The Walking Dead” (nominated for Golden Globe last winter, but it’s been off the air since early December)
“True Blood” (nominated last year, but probably fades away)

My personal favorites (not predictions):
Comedy: “Bored to Death,” “Community,” “Louie,” “Modern Family,” “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” though I wouldn’t complain if “The Big Bang Theory” got in.
Drama: “Boardwalk Empire,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Justified,” “Mad Men,” “Terriers,” “Treme”

You can see Variety’s Emmy preview coverage here.

I’ll be in the office at Variety at dawn to help start our Emmy news coverage — make sure you stop by — then will be heading over later in the morning to the Variety Sports Entertainment Summit, which ends with a “Moneyball” panel at 5:05 p.m.

Going deep with ‘Moneyball’

Morning briefing …

Dave McNary of Variety has an in-depth look at the development and prospects of upcoming film “Moneyball,” which hits theaters in about two months.

You know about Roger Owens, but Steve Lopez of the Times profiles another longtime Dodger Stadium peanut vendor, Ronnie Nelsen.

This post is dedicated to actor Roberts Blossom, who passed away Friday. Blossom was featured in one of my favorite episodes of television ever, the “Cicely” episode of “Northern Exposure.”

The first commercial Dodgers broadcast, 70 years ago today

Cynthia Littleton of Variety and Tom Hoffarth of the Daily News have pieces on today’s 70th anniversary of what’s said to be the debut of commercial television – with both noting that a Dodgers-Phillies (Brooklyn loses, 6-4) game was part of the original programming. The Dodgers also played in the first televised baseball game, in 1939.

… Television sets had been available in Gotham department stores such as Macy’s since the 1939 World’s Fair broadcast got early adopters excited about the potential of television. But most of the sets in use in 1941 were set up to receive 441 lines of picture while the FCC had set the commercial telecasting standard at 525. That made for some muddy visuals early on.

Variety was unimpressed by the overall presentation, the hucksterism and production value.

“It was all pretty corney,” Daily Variety reported on July 2, 1941. “Especially a crowd of announcers and radio hangerson eating chocolate layer cake made with Spry and yumyumming. Practically all the sets in the New York area were picking up 525 line images on old sets adjusted to 441 lines. This cut down definition, but it was not engineering definition that was hard to bear. It was the low grade showmanship.”

WNBT and WCBW broadcast about 15 hours a week in those first few months. But the flagship stations for the Peacock (NBC) and the Eye (CBS) didn’t get much time to refine their product before the U.S. entry into WWII put the kibosh on virtually all commercial telecasts. The technology and resources that David Sarnoff and William Paley were plowing into TV were immediately diverted to the war effort.

The growth of TV would be stymied for the better part of the 1940s, until a manic vaudevillian named Milton Berle hit it big with “Texaco Star Theater” in 1948 and TV sets starting flying off the shelves.

* * *

  • Ken Arneson, retired Baseball Toaster chieftain, has a guest piece on Baseball Prospectus today. As I always say, ‘nuf said.
  • Here’s a new baseball cartoon blog: Gary Finkler’s 7th Inning Sketch, complete with requisite Frank McCourt image.
  • The Collected Sins of the Frank & Jamie McCourt era, by Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness. Unenjoy!

Pac-10/Pac-12 TV deal announcement



If anyone’s interested in watching the press conference officially announcing the 8 a.m. Pacific 10/Pacific 12 Conference TV deal, watch the live stream above – or if for some reason that isn’t working, click this link.

Lakers’ mega-TV deal could have impact on Dodgers


US PresswireThe Lakers’ local TV future is set until my 65th birthday. The Dodgers’ TV future … not so much.

Over at Variety, I have a story on Time Warner Cable’s landmark 20-year deal to create English- and Spanish-language Lakers TV networks. (And since this is the first question everyone has asked me today – no, this doesn’t mean only TWC subscribers will get to see the Lakers. It does mean that your satellite or cable provider, if it’s not TWC, will have to pay for the rights to air the networks.)

It’s too soon to know what this means for the Dodgers’ future TV plans, though not too soon to speculate.

First, an excerpt from the story:

In a major shift on the Los Angeles televised sports landscape, Time Warner Cable has acquired rights to distribute local broadcasts of Los Angeles Lakers games in a 20-year deal beginning with the 2012-13 NBA season.

Time Warner Cable will launch English- and Spanish-language sports networks showcasing the franchise, taking away the rights to live game broadcasts from current broadcasters KCAL Channel 9 and Fox Sports Net.

TWC is not keeping the channels exclusive to its own subscribers. Rather, it will make them available to all satellite, cable and telco distributors in the Lakers’ territory, which includes all of Southern California, Nevada and Hawaii.

National broadcast contracts on ABC/ESPN and TNT are unaffected, but 2011-12 will be the last season of local over-the-air broadcasts of the Lakers in Los Angeles.

“We are aiming for full and complete distribution with all distributors,” Time Warner Cable exec veep and chief programming officer Melinda Witmer told Variety. …

Dave McMenamin of ESPNLos Angeles.com is also covering the news, as are the Times’ Joe Flint and Bill Shaikin. Flint has details on what the cost could be per subscriber, while Shaikin’s piece most directly addresses the impact on the Dodgers, whose TV deal with Fox expires in 2013:

… Beyond then, according to court documents, Frank McCourt had intended to launch cable channels dubbed “DTV: Dodger Television” in English and Spanish, enabling the team to more than triple its annual television revenue if projections held true. …

Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch declined to comment on how the Lakers’ announcement might impact the Dodgers’ television plans. However, two sports industry consultants said what the Dodgers might have lost in financial upside could be somewhat mitigated with the newfound leverage of more sports channels in town.“It opens up a heck of a lot more what-ifs,” said Andy Dolich, a former top executive with the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco 49ers and Memphis Grizzlies.

McCourt still could pursue DTV, although local cable and satellite operators might balk at adding a Dodgers-themed channel, since subscribers might balk at paying for DTV, the Lakers channels, Fox Sports West and Fox’s Prime Ticket.

The Lakers, however, just provided McCourt with additional leverage. Until Monday, the Dodgers could say to Fox, “If you don’t offer us enough money to renew our deal, we’ll start our own channel.” Now the Dodgers can say to Fox, “If you don’t offer us enough, we can start our own channel or move our games to the Lakers channel.” …

However, since the loss of the Lakers and Dodgers would deprive Fox of arguably its two most valuable sports properties, Ganis said Fox might make the Dodgers an enormously lucrative contract offer. …

Fox said the following in a statement in response to the upcoming end to nearly three decades of Laker home broadcasts on Fox Sports Net: “”Fox made an offer to the Lakers that would have paid them one of the highest local TV rights fees in professional sports. We did not believe that going higher was in the best interest of our business or pay TV customers in Los Angeles, who will bear the cost of this deal for years to come.”

* * *

  • Roberto Baly of Vin Scully Is My Homeboy has not one but two photo-filled posts on Day 1 of the Dodgers Caravan, which featured a team-infused cleanup effort along the L.A. River.
  • Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness offers Dodger fans “Six Reasons for Optimism in 2011.”
  • The 1932 Detroit Tigers spent part of their Spring Training at Stanford’s brand-new Sunken Diamond, and Scott Allen of Rule of Tree has a post about it.

My favorite TV shows of 2010

Drama

  1. Mad Men
  2. Breaking Bad
  3. Friday Night Lights
  4. Luther
  5. Terriers
  6. Boardwalk Empire
  7. Lost
  8. Treme
  9. Justified
  10. Rubicon

Honorable mention (in alphabetical order): Chuck, In Treatment, Men of a Certain Age

Comedy

  1. The Daily Show
  2. Modern Family
  3. Party Down
  4. Parks and Recreation
  5. Community
  6. Bored to Death
  7. Louie
  8. The Big Bang Theory
  9. Better Off Ted
  10. The Office

Honorable mention (in alphabetical order): 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, Curb Your Enthusiasm

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