On July 3rd, the Detroit Tigers will play host to the Kansas City Royals. That division battle will air on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock. That game will also air without any announcers.
Instead of traditional play-by-play and color analysis, the broadcast will feature something “completely different,” as Sam Flood, NBC Sports executive producer puts it. The broadcast will show reporters that will take fans around the ballpark and view the game from different vantage points.
“The whole idea of this is treating a game completely different. We’re going to take you out to the ballpark,” said Flood. “We just want to be the ultimate fan’s experience and spend it like anyone else. It’s an American holiday celebration weekend. We’re going to lean in and treat baseball like fans do.”
Ahmed Fareed, MLB Sunday Leadoff host and in-game reporter will be part of the game. He will be joined by Bally Sports Detroit analyst Craig Monroe and NBC Sports’ Britney Eurton.
It’s not the first time that networks have attempted to do a game telecast without traditional announcers. TNT attempted “players-only” broadcasts a few years ago, but stopped doing them shortly after due to the lack of interest in the format, to be kind.
“One of our goals for the Peacock game has been to celebrate the game and the players and everything that makes the sport special. So for this game that kind of gives us an opportunity to celebrate everything that makes baseball special off the field,” Fareed said.
