Globe and Mail--MLB scheduling problem

Fox Television tossed baseball fans a knuckleball when it scheduled the start of each game of the two championship series at the same time Wednesday night.

Rogers Sportsnet, which carries the Fox telecasts, will air Game 2 of the Detroit Tigers-Oakland A's series in its Ontario and Pacific regions.

Viewers in the East and West will get Game 1 of St. Louis Cardinals-New York Mets series.

If you have digital TV, the split telecast isn't a problem, because all four regional feeds are available. However, if you happen to be a Mets or Cardinals fan living in Vancouver and without digital, you're out of luck.

Fox could have aired the Cards-Mets game at 4 p.m. (Eastern), followed by Tigers-A's at 8 p.m. But Fox refuses to start the weekday game of a championship series at 4 p.m., because of ratings. The numbers for an 8 p.m. telecast are 90-per-cent higher.

It's worth asking why Major League Baseball wouldn't schedule every game of each series on alternate nights. Why create a conflict on one night?

The answer is that baseball is working on a tight timeline, albeit one that is self-imposed. It needs to wrap up the two championship series by Oct. 19, because the World Series starts Oct. 21.

This one-night scheduling conflict is not new. It's now in its sixth year.

However, MLB's next television deal will probably mandate the rights holder avoid conflicts by employing a same-day 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. schedule.

Only one telecast, Cards-Mets, will be available in high definition television.

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