Seen on Screen: Fox Sports Announces 2016 MLB Regular Season Schedule; CBS, Turner Return ‘NCAA March Madness Confidential’

by Alicia Montanaro, Editorial Assistant

MLB ON FOX: LOGO

Fox Sports announced its combined 2016 Fox and FS1 regular-season MLB schedule, officially marking its 21st season as a television home for Major League Baseball. The national broadcast schedule will include a minimum of 71 game telecasts between Fox and FS1, highlighted by at least 68 appearances by teams that participated in the 2015 postseason. The national slate of games will be combined with an approximate 2,260 games airing via Fox Sports Regional Networks. In addition, as home to MLB’s postseason events, Fox Sports will provide coverage of the National League Division and Championship series on FOX and FS1, followed by the 112th World Series on Fox. All regular season games airing on Fox Sports and FS1, as well as the All-Star Game, Division Series, League Championship Series, and World Series, will be streamed live on Fox Sports GO for all subscribers of participating video providers…

…CBS Sports and Turner Sports’ joint coverage of the 2016 NCAA Tournament includes the return of NCAA March Madness Confidential, which provides exclusive, behind-the-scenes access of NCAA Tournament teams. This year’s series features five teams: #1 seed Oregon, #2 seed Oklahoma, #3 seed Miami, #3 seed Texas A&M, and #5 seed Purdue. The features chronicling their NCAA Tournament journeys will air during studio coverage across TBS, CBS, TNT, truTV and NCAA.com throughout the Tournament…

…Comcast SportsNet presented a pair of commercial-free spring training game telecasts to start up its “15 Games in 16 Days” Cactus League schedule. The first game featured the Cubs against the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, March 16. The second game, on Friday, March 18, featured the Cubs matchup with the White Sox, as well as new White Sox play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti and veteran analyst Steve Stone. Both commercial-free Cubs and White Sox spring training telecasts took the opportunity to showcase brand new interviews and a number of entertaining behind-the-scenes features. Furthermore, Comcast SportsNet is set to provide fans with a pair of Road to Opening Day specials airing on Sunday, March 27 at 7:00 p.m. CT for the Cubs and 7:30 p.m. CT for the White Sox…

…The Tennis Channel is set to be the sole cable, satellite, and telco provider, as well as the greatest digital provider, of on-air matches during the French Open at Roland Garros. From May 22 through June 5, approximately 80% of all live, televised French Open competition will be exclusive to the network. The new lineup of matches includes men’s and women’s singles quarterfinals and semifinals, and the mixed doubles finals. The network will have live coverage for 13 of the competition’s 15 days, and will devote approximately 315 hours of airtime to Roland Garros during the two-week event. The Tennis Channel will also provide viewers with more coverage than ever before, with the addition of nine new robotic-production camera courts, and a digital subscription service named Tennis Channel Plus…

…NBC Sports Group, the U.S. television home of motorsports, is slated to present nearly 1,800 hours of motorsports coverage in 2016 across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, and NBC Sports Live Extra. The broadcasts include NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One, Mecum Auctions, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, Red Bull Global RallyCross, and original programming. Live coverage begins on Sunday, March 20, with the Formula One Australian Grand Prix on NBCSN. More than 800 hours of NASCAR content, including the second half of the NASCAR Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series campaigns, will begin July 4th weekend at Daytona International Speedway. In addition, NBC Sports Group will present more than 250 hours of original motorsports programming, including weekday episodes of NASCAR America on NBCSN…

…On Friday, March 11, Showtime Sports announced seven live boxing telecasts over a 12-week span. Free to Showtime subscribers, the stacked lineup will feature nine world championship fights and 14 overall matches. The presentation on CBS is the first Prime Time boxing event on CBS in decades. On April 9, the first program is set to showcase the IBF Heavyweight World Title Championship between Charles Martin and Anthony Joshua, followed by the co-featured IBF Featherweight Championship between Lee Selby and Eric Hunter…

…On Wednesday, March 16, NBSN aired Haas F1: America’s Return to the Grid. The one-hour documentary chronicles the launch and development of Haas F1, the first American-led Formula One team in 30 years. Haas F1: America’s Return To The Grid brings viewers inside the Haas F1, providing behind-the-scenes access to the team, garages, and drivers, as they become the first American-led team to officially compete in Formula One since 1986. Through interviews with crew members and drivers, the documentary explores the importance of Haas F1’s endeavor, and showcases the preparation for the first race of the season in Melbourne, Australia. America’s Return To The Grid features interviews with Haas F1 team owner Gene Haas, team principal Guenther Steiner, team manager Dave O’Neill, and Haas F1 drivers.