It’s Official: World Baseball Classic will be on ESPN and MLB Network

ESPN also acquired the English and Spanish radio broadcast rights, as well as digital rights, including the live-streaming of games on ESPN360.com. It will show 23 games, including the semifinal and championship, on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

The World Baseball Classic, running from March 5 to March 23, will have 16 countries playing in seven venues in five nations.

“ESPN looks forward to working with the World Baseball Classic to build on what we started in 2006,” said Len DeLuca, ESPN senior vice president for programming and acquisitions. “We look forward to collaborating to make this the best global championship in March.”

ESPN televised the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic, which was watched by more than 24 million.

“It was a simple calculus that produced our agreement with ESPN to broadcast once again the World Baseball Classic,” said Gene Orza, Major League Baseball Players Association chief operating officer.

MLB Network, which will debut on Jan. 1, 2009, will broadcast 16 games, and will put on a nightly highlight show beginning in late February.

The first round of the 2009 tournament will be played entirely outside of the United States. ESPN will show the Tokyo pool, three games from the Toronto pool, and four games from the San Juan pool.

MLB Network will televise the Mexico City pool, three games from the Toronto pool, and two games from the San Juan pool.

SEE! The Dominican embarrass Panama!
HEAR! Orestes Destrade translate Japanese!
WITNESS! The Skydome in March!