(SUNRISE, FL) – Fox Sports Net Florida will take a step back in time next Wednesday, June 12 when Rays announcers Dewayne Staats and Joe Magrane call the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays from the stands at Tropicana Field. For the second consecutive season, television viewers will be able to watch the game as it is called from the perspective of a fan sitting in the stands. Brad Heard, Fox Sports Net Florida’s Vice President of Programming and Operations announced the exclusive "fan view" telecast.
"Fox Sports Net has always used innovative technology and creativity to provide fan-focused game telecasts," said Heard. "Moving the telecast team out of the broadcast booth and into the stands brings back a baseball tradition that generated enthusiasm with viewers, fans, and our announcers when we tried it for the first time last season. To viewers, the game will have a completely different tone and fans at Tropicana Field have the opportunity to mingle with the announcers and become involved in the telecast."
Throughout the Fox Sports Net telecast, Staats and Magrane will experience all aspects of the Rays game along with other fans at the ballpark. Ballpark food, participation in the seventh inning stretch, and special effects inside the stadium – music, sounds, and jumbotron videos – will all be incorporated into the telecast and translated to home viewers by the announcing team.
Fans at the stadium will also have direct access to play-by-play announcer Dewayne Staats and color analyst Joe Magrane throughout game. Foregoing the broadcast booth, the announcers will interact with fans as they call the action from the Batter's Eye Party Deck, located in the outfield between section 149 and the Batter's Eye restaurant. At times, Magrane will interact with the crowd along with in-game reporter Todd Kalas searching for opportunities to pay tribute to hometown fans.
Fox Sports Net Florida's producers are working closely with team representatives to ensure the relocation of the telecast booth will not interfere with fans' line of sight at the ballpark. The "fan view" telecast is part of a "special night" initiative orchestrated nationally by Fox Sports Net. Coverage begins at 7:00pm with the DEVIL RAYS ON DECK pre-game show, hosted by Todd Kalas.
Fox Sports Net Florida reaches more than 3.9 million households in Florida. Fox Sports Net Florida is managed by Rainbow Sports Networks, a division of Cablevision's Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. Fox Sports Net Florida's programming includes Major League Baseball's Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays; the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers; the University of Miami, and the University of South Florida, along with select NASCAR and PGA Tour coverage.
Fox Sports Net reaches more than 79 million households nationwide and is a service of National Sports Partners, equally owned by Cablevision's Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. and Fox Entertainment Group. Rainbow Sports Networks incorporates Rainbow's 50% ownership of Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports National Advertising and the ownership and management of Fox Sports Net regional networks in five of the nation's largest markets: Chicago, Florida, Ohio, New England and San Francisco.