MLB Net President & CEO Petitti Discusses State Of Network

Petitti Says Studio Programming, Thursday Games Are Backbone Of MLB Net

MLB Network President & CEO Tony Petitti yesterday appeared on Bloomberg TV and discussed the new channel, saying the “real backbone of the network really is studio programming … and then the weekly game on Thursday.” Petitti said trying to attract viewers from other sports nets will be "challenging," and MLB Net is "trying to show why we’re different." Petitti: "We can build a habit with fans that we’re always there. If we can complement all the local broadcasts … so they can use us as a resource to get baseball information on a regular basis, we think there’s enough viewership across every night to be successful.” Petitti also touched on selling ad content on the net. Petitti: "As a start-up network our goals were fairly modest in trying to attract interest in the first year. … The good thing is the type of buys we’re asking for aren’t as large as some other more established networks” (Bloomberg TV, 3/10).

FAMILIAR APPROACH: In K.C., Jason Snell wrote MLB Net's news coverage "seems to essentially be following the premise, 'What If ESPN could only cover baseball?'" The net's offseason version of its "Hot Stove" show is "nothing more than ESPN's 'Baseball Tonight,' only with more time to fill," and it even has the "same neon-and-plasma-screen set design." During the season there is "no doubt that MLB Network will be the best place to get game information and watch highlights," and the net's coverage of Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez' steroid revelations "suggest that it will show some degree of editorial independence." But Snell wrote he has to admit to "being depressed that the network has apparently stuck with ESPN's ex-jock-and-print-journalist analyst philosophy." Snell: "Surely there are some stats guys out there who can clean up nicely, string a few sentences together, and hold their own in arguments with [analysts] Harold Reynolds and Jon Heyman" (KANSASCITY.com, 3/9).