World Baseball Classic, Inc. announced today that it has reached an agreement with ESPN that makes ESPN networks the exclusive domestic home of the inaugural World Baseball Classic tournament

ESPN and ESPN2 will offer 16 live telecasts, highlighted by the ESPN telecast of the March 18 semifinal games and March 20 final game from San Diego’s PETCO Park

ESPN Syndication will syndicate 14 games to a variety of English-language outlets

In addition to the aforementioned ESPN coverage, ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s Spanish-language network in the U.S., will be the only domestic network to televise all 39 games of the inaugural tournament

ESPN Radio will air the semifinals and final

“ESPN has been a tremendous television partner and I am extremely pleased that we will be enhancing our relationship with their coverage of the inaugural World Baseball Classic” said Tim Brosnan, Executive Vice President of Business for Major League Baseball
“The magnitude of ESPN’s reach will provide the broad, in-depth coverage that this event deserves”

“We're delighted we could reach agreement with ESPN on what will prove to be, I'm confident, historic broadcasts of the sport
There is a style and intensity that ESPN brings to baseball that makes this agreement the perfect fit for the inaugural games” said Gene Orza, Chief Operating Officer of the Major League Baseball Players Association

“This is yet another exciting new chapter in ESPN’s growing relationship with MLB and the MLB Players Association” said Len DeLuca, ESPN senior vice president, programming and acquisitions
“We will have coverage across multiple ESPN platforms
This will add to the madness of March
From the first games in Japan on March 3 to the tournament’s semis and championship on ESPN and ESPN Deportes on March 18 and 20, we’re introducing a great concept - the best Major Leaguers playing for their nations”

“This agreement is a grand slam for ESPN Deportes, as we solidify our leadership position in bringing Spanish-language baseball telecasts to Hispanic sports fans throughout the United States” said Traug Keller, ESPN senior vice president, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio
“The World Baseball Classic adds an exclamation point to our year-round coverage of baseball which includes the Dominican League, Mexican Pacific League and MLB”

ESPN International will provide coverage in Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the Middle East and Israel

ESPN will also have rights for all its new media platforms including Mobile ESPN (the company’s new mobile phone), ESPN.com and ESPN360 (broadband)

THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

The World Baseball Classic, a 16-team tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), will feature many of the best players in the world competing for their home countries and territories for the first time ever

The 16 teams invited to participate in the event have been divided into four pools of four teams for the first round of play

The four Round 1 pools will be played at venues in Japan (Tokyo Dome - Tokyo), Puerto Rico (Hiram Bithorn Stadium - San Juan) and the United States (Chase Field - Phoenix, Arizona; Scottsdale Stadium - Scottsdale, Arizona; The Ballpark at Disney’s Wide World of Sports - Orlando, Florida)

Round 2 will feature two pools of four teams each and is scheduled to be played in Puerto Rico and Anaheim

The semifinals and final game with be played at PETCO Park in San Diego

The WBC will feature a bracket-style format with the 16 teams competing in four groups:
Pool A - China, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Japan and Korea
Pool B - Canada, Mexico, South Africa and United States
Pool C - Cuba, Netherlands, Panama and Puerto Rico
Pool D - Australia, Dominican Republic, Italy and Venezuela