# XM Radio has launched the MLB channel



## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

XM Satellite Radio on Tuesday launched the first 24-hour radio channel devoted exclusively to Major League Baseball. The MLB Home Plate channel features news, listener call-in shows, interviews and rebroadcasts of classic games. Cal Ripken Jr. will host a weekly show starting in March. XM's on-air hosts include Rob Dibble, Kevin Kennedy, Larry Bowa, and Buck Martinez. XM will carry play-by-play coverage of every team.

*Source*


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## DaveTinNY (Nov 8, 2004)

Will the play by play coverage for each team have dedicated broadcasters? For example, I've been listening to John Sterling and Michael Kay/Charlie Steiner for years now on WABC/WCBS am radio. Sterling is the best broadcaster in baseball (my opinion). If they are not on XM then I'll still be listening to AM radio on the nights I drive home from work and the Yankees are on.

Dave in NY


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## trnsfrguy (Nov 11, 2004)

That's a great question.... From what I've read elsewhere, you would hear the home team's broadcasters.
So, I guess When the Yanks are away, we would hear the other team's broadcasters....


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

There's a rumor going around that XM is looking into ways to have all the broadcasts - home and away - but I stress that I've not really seen ANYthing to back that up.


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## blew (Dec 8, 2003)

DaveTinNY said:


> Will the play by play coverage for each team have dedicated broadcasters? For example, I've been listening to John Sterling and Michael Kay/Charlie Steiner for years now on WABC/WCBS am radio. Sterling is the best broadcaster in baseball (my opinion). If they are not on XM then I'll still be listening to AM radio on the nights I drive home from work and the Yankees are on.
> 
> Dave in NY


Dave:
Charlie Seiner has moved on to the Dodgers. Suzyn Waldman will be Sterling's new broadcast partner.


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## DaveTinNY (Nov 8, 2004)

That's great! I've always liked Suzyn and I think she'll do a great job. She KNOWS the Yankees. 
Hmmm, I wonder if she'll ever sing the national anthem and then run up to the broadcast booth to take on the "Compadre" duties with Sterling....
Can't wait for baseball!
Dave


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## blew (Dec 8, 2003)

DaveTinNY said:


> That's great! I've always liked Suzyn and I think she'll do a great job. She KNOWS the Yankees.
> Hmmm, I wonder if she'll ever sing the national anthem and then run up to the broadcast booth to take on the "Compadre" duties with Sterling....
> Can't wait for baseball!
> Dave


She was never one of my favorites, but that's what makes the world go 'round I guess. Spring training has started and I'll soon be able to listen to Yankee games anywhere I go. It's all good


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## SamC (Jan 20, 2003)

XM will have the regular home team broadcasters. So if its Cincy @ Philly, you get the Phillies' broadcast, then when its Philly @ Cincy, you get the Reds' broadcast. With the local commercials, BTW. 

Rumor has it that this is at the request of the smaller market teams. XM really wanted to always carry the LARGER markets feed, meaning that the Yankees feed would be used for all Yankee games, home and away, and so on down the list. But the smaller market teams demanded equality, so they went with the HOME market feed.

I don't know how this will play with die-hard fans. Listening to, say, the Red Sox coverage of a NYY @ BOS game will be difficult.

Assuming the service continues to grow, at some point in the future, say 3-5 years from now, XM will have expanded capacity and will probably carry both team's coverages. Right now it just comes down to bandwidth.


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## DaveTinNY (Nov 8, 2004)

Well at least in the NYC area I've got WCBS 880 amplitude modulation to stay with the Yankees' team of Sterling-Waldman; I've had the displeasure of listening to other team announcers and let's just say for me the quality was not up to par. Guess I'm spoiled happy.
Dave


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