Major League Lacrosse on television

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Major League Lacrosse (MLL) is a men's field lacrosse league consisting of six active teams in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams play 16 regular-season games from late May to late September, with a four-team playoff for the championship trophy, the Steinfeld Trophy.

Fox Sports Net (2001–2003)[]

For Major League Lacrosse's[1][2] first two[3] seasons of existence, their games were broadcast on Fox Sports Net. The package[4] called for 12 regular season telecasts on Sunday afternoons beginning in the second week of June[5] and running through MLL Championship Game on Labor Day Weekend.

Fox Sports Net employed Mike Crispino, Quint Kessenich, and Brian Kilmeade as commentators.[6]

ESPN2 (2003–2012)[]

ESPN2[7] televised a weekly MLL game on Tuesday[8] afternoons from 2003 through 2011.[9] In 2012, ESPN2 televised three regular season games, the All-Star Game, one semifinal, and the MLL Championship game. MLL games have not been regularly shown on ESPN2 since 2012 due to low ratings.[10] Games continue to be streamed on ESPN3.

ESPN2 used Joe Beninati[11] and Quint Kessenich as their commentary team. Other announcers that ESPN3[12] employed were play-by-play announcers Todd Bell, Jason Chandler, Mike Evans, Scott Garceau, , Dave Ryan and Tom Werme, along with analysts Paul Carcaterra, Brian Shanahan, Evan Washburn and Ron Zwerin.

CBS Sports Network (2013–2017) and Lax Sports Network (2018)[]

CBS Sports Network[13] has televised all-star games and the playoffs since 2013. MLL did not receive any money from these networks for these deals.[14]

CBS Sports Network was scheduled to nationally televise 14 games in 2012. Dave Ryan and Evan Washburn[15][16] were employed as commentators. CBS Sports Network also produced about 18 episodes a year of Inside The MLL,[17] which was a 30-minute show hosted by Evan Washburn that covered the previous week's games and the current league news.

The first game[18] that CBS Sports Network televised was a game at from Sports Authority Field at Mile High between the Rochester Rattlers and the Denver Outlaws on Saturday, May 18, 2013. The game aired on a one hour same-day delay at 10:00 p.m. ET. CBS Sports Network was also scheduled to televise the Semi-Final Game later that August.

In 2017, Lax Sports Network was given exclusive rights to all 63 regular season games.[19] Eric Frede[20] and Brendan McDaniels were employed by LAX Sports Network as commentators. Twitter streamed the semifinal games and CBS Sports Network broadcast the final.[21][22]

Stadium, ESPN+, and ESPN2 (2019–present)[]

On April 1, 2019, the league announced they had reacquired broadcast rights from Lax Sports Network.[23] It was unclear where each team would broadcast its games, though the Boston Cannons announced on March 28 that NBC Sports Boston would air all 16 of their games.[24]

One day prior to the start of the 2019 season, the league announced that 12 games would be broadcast on Stadium and the network would air a weekly studio show.[25]

The league also announced that they would renew its partnership with ESPN[26] and stream a "Game of the Week" throughout the season on the network's streaming service ESPN+.[27] Furthermore, the 2019 All-Star Game and Championship Game would air on ESPN2. Joe Beninati and Quint Kessenich were again used as the primary broadcast team with Mark Dixon and Don Zimmerman[28] serving as the secondary crew.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Williams, Lena (August 2, 2001). "LACROSSE; Wall Street Lunch Crowd Gets Taste of New League". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Morris, Tim (August 23, 2001). "Major League Lacrosse tapping sport's popularity". CENTRAL JERSEY ARCHIVES.
  3. ^ Eisenhood, Charles (November 28, 2012). "Major League Lacrosse Commissioner Says Pro Ultimate Has A College Problem". Ultiworld.
  4. ^ "MLL Announces 2002 Television Game of the Week Package". Inside Lacrosse. May 10, 2002.
  5. ^ Zrebiec, Jeff (June 5, 2002). "MLL strengthens case in 2nd year". The Baltimore Sun.
  6. ^ OLD SKOOL Lacrosse: 2001 MLL Semi Finals Boston Cannons vs Bayhawks on YouTube
  7. ^ "MAJOR LEAGUE LACROSSE SIGNS MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT WITH ESPN2". Major League Lacrosse. March 4, 2007.
  8. ^ "MLL and ESPN Extend TV Contract". OurSports Central. November 3, 2004.
  9. ^ Morrissey, Aly (June 16, 2011). "ESPN2 to Broadcast First MLL Game of the Season Tonight". Major League Lacrosse.
  10. ^ "Devitte: MLL Week Three, The Numbers Game, Franchise Ranks". Inside Lacrosse. 2015-04-28. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  11. ^ "Major League Lacrosse 2010 Schedule on ESPN". ESPN Press Room. April 12, 2010.
  12. ^ Margolis Siegal, Rachel (February 15, 2012). "ESPN and Major League Lacrosse Announce 2012 TV Schedule". ESPN Press Room.
  13. ^ "MLL Signs Major Television Agreement with CBS Sports Network". Major League Lacrosse. November 7, 2011.
  14. ^ "Major League Lacrosse Commissioner Says Pro Ultimate Has A College Problem". Ultiworld. 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  15. ^ MLL on CBS Sports Network in 2013 on YouTube
  16. ^ "CBS SPORTS NETWORK EXPANDS LACROSSE COVERAGE TO INCLUDE NATIONAL LACROSSE LEAGUE AND MAJOR LEAGUE LACROSSE". ViacomCBS Press Express. March 7, 2012.
  17. ^ Wilson, Connor. "MLL Signs TV Deal With CBS Sports Network". LacrosseAllStars.com.
  18. ^ "MLL Announces CBS Sports Schedule". In Lacrosse We Trust. March 21, 2013.
  19. ^ "Watch MLL Games" (Press release). Major League Lacrosse. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  20. ^ Week 16 of the MLL: New York Lizards vs. Dallas Rattlers on YouTube
  21. ^ "2017 MLL Playoffs" (Press release). Major League Lacrosse. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  22. ^ "2017 MLL Championship Game" (Press release). Major League Lacrosse. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  23. ^ Ingemi, Marisa (April 1, 2019). "Major League Lacrosse folds three teams amid restructure". Boston Herald. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  24. ^ NBC Sports Boston to air all Cannons games
  25. ^ "Stadium To Stream 12 Major League Lacrosse Games, Produce Weekly Content During 2019 Season". Sports Video Group. May 31, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  26. ^ Jackson, Hutton (May 31, 2019). "MLL announces 2019 broadcast partnerships with ESPN, Stadium". Pro Lacrosse Talk.
  27. ^ "Season-Long Coverage of MLL on ESPN+, ESPN2". Major League Lacrosse. May 31, 2019.
  28. ^ "MLL Championship Weekend Coverage on ESPN2 and ESPNEWS". Major League Lacrosse. September 24, 2019.

External links[]

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