World Series 2024: Onsite Studio Coverage, Social-Media Success of Ballpark Cam Has MLB Network Shining

Return to The Bronx in October is a full-circle moment for the league-owned broadcaster

As the scene shifts to The Bronx for Monday night’s Game 3 of the World Series, the crew at MLB Network loads up into Yankee Stadium for (potentially) three straight days of onsite studio coverage in what is a full-circle moment for many crew members who have been a part of the network since the beginning.

MLB Network hosted on-field postgame coverage following the Los Angeles Dodgers World Series Game 2 victory on Saturday night. (All photos: MLB Network)

It was New Year’s Day 2009 when MLB Network first hit air. Four months later, the new Yankee Stadium opened. Six months after that, the Yankees faced the Philadelphia Phillies in the first World Series of the MLB Network era.

That October 15 years ago, MLB Network secured a small position on the field, setting up a few director’s chairs and hosting pre/postgame coverage, and also worked with FOX to get a feed out of both Yankee Stadium and Citizens Bank Ballpark for what became a Yankees win in six games.

These days, the effort is a bit more comprehensive. MLB Network has an onsite set, its own complement of production trucks in the compound at each stadium, and virtually day-long coverage of events from the host stadium on game day. The network’s shows — MLB Central, High Heat, Intentional Talk, and MLB Tonight — will emanate entirely (or at least partly) from the respective ballpark.

“Everything has evolved in such a positive way,” reflects Susan Stone, SVP, operations, MLB Network, a veteran of the network since launch. “We bring out our big set, and it’s on hydraulics, and we’re producing wall-to-wall coverage. We have such fond memories, though, of our first World Series.”

After a stint at Dodger Stadium for Games 1 and 2, MLB Network’s onsite studio coverage shifts to New York and Yankee Stadium.

Technology aside, it has been a major culture shift not just for those who worked at the network but for everyone at the league, including its players.

“When it was our first one,” says Marc Caiafa, SVP, production, MLB Network, “we were just trying to figure out if the teams knew who we were; they had never seen us in action during a World Series like that. They didn’t understand, at the time, the concept of having players on the desk for interviews. I remember it being a free-for-all and having to go inside [the clubhouse] during the celebration to pull players back to the field and the desk. That was foreign to a lot of people. Now it’s commonplace.”

Ballpark Cam Becomes a Social-Media Darling

Another star of this postseason also is a “veteran” of the network: Ballpark Cam. Installed in two places in each stadium across MLB, the Ballpark Cam system is a network of cameras controlled remotely from MLB Network studios in Secaucus, NJ. The system has long been deployed, winning multiple awards over the years.

This year, however, it has been a gold mine for social-media content. From the Mets’ Francisco Lindor’s grand slam in the NLDS to the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman’s historic grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series, Ballpark Cam has pulled in truly original angles of major moments, capturing the atmosphere at the ballpark as the crowd erupts.

FREDDIE SENDS DODGER STADIUM INTO A FRENZY! 🔊🔊🔊

NTT #BallparkCam | #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/XiFLot34g7

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 26, 2024

“I’ll tell you what a lot of the [social-media] posts have shown me: that people, believe it or not, really love the audio,” says Caiafa. “If you’re watching a game, there are many wide shots, but, for whatever reason, this shot resonates on its own because it just looks different and it feels like an angle that you can’t see anywhere else. The audio has been able to pick up the crazy roars of the crowd.

“There’s something about it not being so tight on the action,” he continues. “Giving you the chance to see all of the fans in the background resonates with a lot of people.”

MLB Network Manager, Studio Technical Operations, Dawnlynn Kulenich; Lead Robotic Camera Operator Angelo Sourias; and Studio Production Broadcast Associate Tyler Monahan have played significant roles in the Ballpark Cam’s success in recent months.

“That angle has existed for the network’s history,” says Jason Hedgcock, senior director, remote technical operations, MLB Network. “I think we’re leaning into the social side of this and pushing those clips out so that people can see them. I think it’s resonating at the right time. Sometimes, you just have to find the right moment for something, right? I think we’re in that right moment with these huge postseason moments we’ve seen this year.”