Here’s our last ESPN-centric post for now. The Alleged Worldwide Leader says it will cover all of the 16 sites comprising the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Regionals. This will occur between May 31 through June 3. This marks the first time that the entire first round of the college baseball tournament will be covered either through television or online.
In addition, ESPN will launch Bases Loaded, a Red Zone Channel-type platform that will launch on Friday, May 31 and last through Monday, June 3. ESPN3 will carry all four days of Bases Loaded in its entirety. ESPN2 or ESPNU will simulcast the new service in between games or during rain delays.
This will all lead to the Super Regionals and then the College World Series in Omaha, NE in June. Let’s take a look at the ESPN announcement.
ESPN to Cover All 16 Division I Baseball Championship Regionals for First Time
Bases Loaded Platform to Provide Day & Night Whip-Around Coverage
ESPN will continue to increase its commitment to college baseball by covering all 16 sites of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship from Friday, May 31 to Monday, June 3. It will mark the first time every first-round game of the event – up to 7 games from each of the 16 locations for a total of a possible 112 matchups over four days – will be available to fans live on a national platform. ESPN provided coverage of six sites in 2012, four in 2011 and two the previous six years.
ESPN will also launch Bases Loaded, a four-day platform to update fans throughout the action. Similar to ESPN’s Goal Line and Buzzer Beater networks, Bases Loaded will provide unlimited live cut-ins and highlights from numerous games, plus up-to-the-minute commentary from ESPN analysts and experts each day of the Regionals. Bases Loaded will be available Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1, from 2 p.m. ET to midnight; Sunday, June 2, from 2 p.m. to 1 a.m.; and Monday, June 3, from 6 p.m. to midnight. ESPN3 will carry the network in its entirety while ESPNU and ESPN2 will simulcast at select times, including between games and rain delays when time permits. Every game will also be available on WatchESPN.
ESPN offered a network record 272 regular-season and conference championship games – 160 exclusively – across ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN2 and ESPN in the 2013 campaign. This season’s lineup marks an increase of 50 exclusive games over the 110 regular-season and conference championship matchups on ESPN platforms in 2012.
In addition to the expanded Regionals schedule, ESPN will continue to cover every Super Regional site (up to 24 games from eight sites) and all possible 17 games of the College World Series.
Selection Show
The 2013 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship field of 64 teams will be announced on May 27 at Noon on ESPNU.
And I have a couple of more posts for you, but they won’t involve ESPN.
