2002 Season on HDNet Features 80 Major League Baseball Games

DALLAS – Mar. 27, 2002 – Major League Baseball and HDNet, the all-high definition sports and entertainment network, have finalized plans to broadcast 80 Major League Baseball games in High Definition during the 2002 regular-season. The 2002 HDNet MLB broadcast schedule begins with the Detroit Tigers-Minnesota Twins game on April 13.

HDNet, which is located on DIRECTV channel 199, originally reached an agreement with MLB in September 2001 to broadcast 12 MLB games to viewers in the highest quality 1080i HD format for the reminder of the 2001 season.

“We are continually striving to take advantage of new broadcasting technologies in order to provide our fans with the most exciting Major League Baseball coverage,” said Tim Brosnan, Executive Vice President, Business for Major League Baseball. “This agreement with HDNet will give Major League Baseball fans the chance to watch their favorite teams and players in the highest-quality broadcast format available."

HDNet, the world’s only national network broadcasting all HD, all the time, produces its MLB game broadcasts in conjunction with certain Fox Sports Net regional outlets, sharing audio and graphics with FSN’s standard definition production units.

“Watching an MLB game in high definition is the next best thing to being in the ballpark,” said Mark Cuban, co-founder of HDNet. “We had great success broadcasting Major League Baseball games during the last month of the 2001 season, and we look forward to working with MLB and Fox Sports Net to bring fans more exciting HDTV baseball action in 2002.”

The April live broadcast schedule is listed below (all times are Eastern). The HDNet Web site at www.hd.net lists additional games through May

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Date Time Game
Sat., April 13 7:05 p.m. Detroit @ Minnesota
Mon., April 15 9:35 p.m. St. Louis @ Arizona
Tues., April 16 8:05 p.m. Pittsburgh @ Milwaukee
Thurs., April 18 8:05 p.m. St. Louis @ Milwaukee
Fri., April 19 8:05 p.m. St. Louis @ Milwaukee
Fri., April 26 6:05 p.m. Minnesota @ Detroit
Sun., April 28 1:05 p.m. Minnesota @ Detroit
Tues., April 30 9:05 p.m. Pittsburgh @ Colorado

About HDNet
HDNet, (www.hd.net), the leader in high definition broadcasting, produces and televises more hours of HDTV programming each week than any other network. Available on DIRECTV channel 199, HDNet broadcasts a full schedule of sports, entertainment and news programming. Featured programming includes live Major League Baseball and National Hockey League games, NBC’s HDTV coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, and the first-ever HDTV war-zone reports starring Peter Arnett. Co-founded by Mark Cuban and General Manager Philip Garvin, the company has offices and facilities in Dallas, Texas and Denver, Colorado. HDNet is available at no extra charge to all DIRECTV customers with an HDTV set, receiver, and elliptical dish.

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Media contacts:
Colette Carey, HDNet (303) 388-8500, ccarey@hd.net
Kathleen Fineout or Carmine N. Tiso, Major League Baseball, (212) 931-7878