Starting Thursday and lasting until August 28, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN 3D and ABC will air the Little League World Series live from the fabled town of Williamsport, PA. All 32 games will be aired live. It’ll start out with group play, then move to the Championship Round in the final weekend of play. ESPN 3D will have 22 games including the International, U.S. and World Series Championships. ABC will carry five games, all on the weekends including all of the Championship games. ESPN and ESPN2 will of course, do most of the heavy lifting.
Brent Musburger and Orel Hershiser will call the Championship games. Karl Ravech and Kyle Peterson call the third place game. Other announcers to be involved include Gary Thorne who will call games and act as host on occasion, Nomar Garciaparra and John Kruk. Chris McKendry will also be on hand to act as both SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight host.
You can argue whether this is exploitation or wholesome, I see both sides. I would just televise the championship games, but Little League Baseball® is a big business so the games will be on TV for the foreseeable future.
Anyway, we have the press release from ESPN.
ABC, ESPN & ESPN2 Combine to Present Every 2011 Little League World Series Game from Williamsport
Little League World Series Available in 3D for First Time; All ESPN & ESPN2 Telecasts to be Simulcast on ESPN3.com
ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to present all 32 games of the 2011 Little League World Series held in Williamsport, Pa., Aug. 18-28. ABC – in its 49th consecutive year of Little League World Series coverage – will broadcast both the International Championship and the United States Championship on Saturday, Aug. 27, at 12 p.m. ET and 3 p.m., respectively. ABC will then present the Little League World Series Championship on Sunday, Aug. 28, at 3 p.m. Overall, ABC will broadcast five games from Williamsport.
This is ESPN’s 23rd consecutive year of Little League World Series coverage, dating back to 1989. ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise 27 Little League World Series games from Williamsport. All ESPN and ESPN2 telecasts will be simulcast via ESPN3.com and nearly all games will be available on ESPN Mobile TV. Fans who receive their cable TV video subscription from an affiliated provider will be able to tune in live via the WatchESPN app on tablets and smartphones.
Little League World Series action from Williamsport will begin Thursday, Aug. 18, with four games on ESPN (1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.). ABC will also broadcast two games from the opening weekend – Saturday, Aug. 20, at 3 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 21, at 2 p.m. Action will continue daily (excluding Friday, Aug. 26) through the Little League World Series consolation game Sunday, Aug. 28, at 11 a.m. on ESPN and Little League World Series Championship at 3 p.m. A full telecast schedule can be seen below.
ESPN’s coverage of the Little League World Series will include a customized open featuring Disney’s Phineas and Ferb.
ESPN will also televise the Little League Web Gems/World Series Preview, which will recap the best defensive plays of the tournament and preview the Little League World Series Championship, on Sunday, Aug. 28, at 1 p.m. Karl Ravech will host the show with reporter Kyle Peterson.
Game Commentators
During the early rounds of play in Williamsport, ESPN’s commentator teams will include play-by-play commentators Karl Ravech and Gary Thorne and analysts Orel Hershiser, Nomar Garciaparra and John Kruk. Reporters will include Kyle Peterson, Mateo Arias (from Disney XD’s Kickin It) and Monica Gonzales.Brent Musburger and Hershiser will provide commentary for the International, United States, and World Series Championship. Ravech and Peterson will call the third place consolation game.
Little League World Series Available in 3D
For the first time, the Little League World Series will be presented in 3D via ESPN 3D. All 22 games emanating from Lamade Field in Williamsport will be presented in 3D, including the third place consolation game.
SportsCenter & Baseball Tonight
Several daily SportsCenter updates will be provided from ESPN’s Baseball Tonight set on site in Williamsport throughout the tournament. Hosts will include Karl Ravech, Gary Thorne and Chris McKendry, joined by analysts Orel Hershiser, Nomar Garciaparra and John Kruk and reporter Kyle Peterson. Additionally, Ravech will host a special edition of SportsCenter on Saturday, Aug. 27, following the International Championship.ESPN.com
ESPN.com will provide extensive coverage of the 2011 Little League World Series including:
- a custom Little League World Series site;
- up-to-date scheduling information;
- video recaps from every game;
- a live chat during the World Series Championship (Aug. 28 at 3 p.m.).
Facebook & Twitter
ESPN’s Little League World Series Facebook page will offer an interactive experience for fans, including videos, photos, poll questions, breaking news, scores and updated standings throughout the tournament. In addition, several ESPN analysts and reporters will be tweeting live from Williamsport including Karl Ravech, John Kruk, Mateo Arias, Monica Gonzalez and Kyle Peterson.ESPN Sport Science
Coverage of the Little League World Series will also include an ESPN Sport Science feature about little leaguers hosted by John Brenkus. The feature examines the skill level of Little League World Series players and how they match up against MLB players, taking into consideration that the average little leaguer is 86 pounds and 11 inches shorter than the average Major Leaguer.ESPN International
ESPN International will broadcast up to 29 Little League World Series games from Williamsport via ESPN2 in Venezuela and Mexico, ESPN2 Caribbean, ESPN Brazil, ESPN Australia, ESPN Israel, ESPN Middle East (throughout Middle East and North Africa) and ESPN Pac Rim (Southern Africa).
2011 Little League World Series Schedule
Pool A – Mid-Atlantic (Clinton County, Pa.), West (Huntington Beach, Calif.), Southeast (Warner Robins, Ga.), Great Lakes (La Grange, Ky.); Pool B – New England (Cumberland, R.I.), Midwest (Rapid City, S.D.), Southwest (Lafayette, La.), Northwest (Billings, Mont.); Pool C – Caribbean (Oranjestad, Aruba), Japan (Hamamatsu, Japan), Mexico (Mexicali, Baja California), Europe (Rotterdam, Netherlands); Pool D – ME/Africa (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia), Latin America (Maracay, Venezuela), Canada (Langley, British Columbia), Asia-Pacific (Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei).
Date Time (ET) Game Field Network Thurs, Aug 18 1 p.m. #1 Asia Pacific vs. Mexico
Volunteer ESPN; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 3 p.m. #2 Northwest vs. Midwest
Lamade ESPN; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 5 p.m. #3 Caribbean vs. Japan
Volunteer ESPN2; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 8 p.m. #4 Southeast vs. Southwest
Lamade ESPN; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV Fri, Aug 19 1 p.m. #5 MEA vs. Canada
Volunteer ESPN; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 3 p.m. #6 New England vs. West
Lamade ESPN; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 5 p.m. #8 Europe vs. Latin America
Volunteer ESPN2; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 8 p.m. #7 Great Lakes vs. Mid-Atlantic
Lamade ESPN; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV Sat, Aug 20 12 p.m. #9 Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2
Volunteer ESPN; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 3 p.m. #10 Loser of Game 2 vs. Loser of Game 4
Lamade ABC; ESPN 3D 6 p.m. # 11 Loser of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 8
Volunteer ESPN; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 8 p.m. #12 Loser of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 7
Lamade ESPN; ESPN3.com; ESPN 3D; ESPN Mobile TV Sun, Aug 21 12 p.m. #13 Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 8
Volunteer ESPN2; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 2 p.m. #14 Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 4
Lamade ABC; ESPN 3D 6 p.m. #15 Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 7 *If Mid-Atlantic is Game 7 winner, this game will be moved to Lamade at 8 p.m. and Game 16 will move Volunteer at 6 p.m.
Volunteer ESPN2; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 8 p.m. #16 Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 3
Lamade ESPN2; ESPN3.com; ESPN 3D Mon, Aug 22 12 p.m. (A) Consolation Game: Loser of Game 9 vs. Loser of Game 10
Lamade ESPN2; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 2 p.m. #17 Loser of Game 13 vs. Winner of Game 9
Volunteer ESPN; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 4 p.m. #18 Loser of Game 14 vs. Winner of Game 12
Lamade ESPN; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 6 p.m. #19 Loser of Game 16 vs. Winner of Game 11
Volunteer ESPN2; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 8 p.m. #20 Loser of Game 15 vs. Winner of Game 10
Lamade ESPN2; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV Tues, Aug 23 1 p.m. (B) Consolation Game: Loser of Game 11 vs. Loser of Game 12
Lamade ESPN2; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com 4 p.m. #21 Winner of Game 17 vs. Winner of Game 19
Lamade ESPN; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 8 p.m. #22 Winner of Game 18 vs. Winner of Game 20
Lamade ESPN2; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV Wed, Aug 24 4 p.m. #23 Winner of Game 13 vs. Winner of Game 16
Lamade ESPN; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 8 p.m. #24 Winner of Game 14 vs. Winner of Game 15
Lamade ESPN; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV Thurs, Aug 25 4 p.m. #25 Winner of Game 21 vs. Loser of Game 23
Lamade ESPN; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 8 p.m. #26 Winner of Game 22 vs. Loser of Game 24
Lamade ESPN2; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV Sat, Aug 27 10:30 a.m. Little League World Series Challenger Exhibition Game Volunteer ESPN3.com 12 p.m. International Championship
Lamade ABC 3 p.m. United States Championship
Lamade ABC Sun, Aug 28 11 a.m. Consolation Game: Third Place
Lamade ESPN; ESPN 3D; ESPN3.com; ESPN Mobile TV 3 p.m. World Series Championship
Lamade ABC
That’s it.
