Over the last five years, Major League Baseball has been making in-roads into the UK market by hosting the annual London Series. And now, following on from the NFL, they’ve also secured a broadcasting deal with the BBC.
MLB has hosted three series in the English capital since the inaugural London Series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, in 2019. Last year saw the Chicago Cubs take on the St.Louis Cardinals and earlier this summer, the New York Mets faced off against the Philadelphia Phillies.
And the three series have proven to be such a hit with the UK audience, that the BBC has now agreed to broadcast several games between now and the postseason in October.
Starting this past weekend with the Yankees and Red Sox game, the Beeb will be showing key matchups in the MLB playoff race, the 2024 MLB end of season run in and early Postseason action with Wildcard and Division Series games on the BBC Sport website, Red Button, and iPlayer.
Across the next two Sundays, a dedicated UK broadcast will take fans through the run up to the Postseason and will be followed by games from the Wild Card and Division Series at the end of this month and the first week of October.
A MAJOR LEAGUE BROADCAST TEAM FOR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
UK audiences will be treated to some familiar faces on the MLB broadcasts, such as host Melanie Newman, who has previously hosted Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV+. Newman will present alongside former Major League first baseman Xavier Scruggs, best known for his time with the Cardinals and Miami Marlins.
Rounding out the trio will be an unexpected face in Felix White, who may not share any Major League credentials with Newman and Scruggs, but is more than used to delivering on the big stage, as guitarist of British indie favourites The Maccabees. White also has plenty of presenting chops as co-host of cricket podcast The Tailenders alongside England legend Jimmy Anderson and Radio One’s Greg James.
Given the success the NFL has enjoyed over the past 17 years with their London games drawing huge crowds at Wembley, Twickenham and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it feels natural that Major League Baseball would follow suit in capturing the imagination of the British fans.
In the six games that have been played across the three London Series so far, attendances have ranged between 53-59,000 at West Ham United’s London Stadium.
