After a 29-year absence, the Cincinnati Reds return to TV flagship station WLWT-TV for the Opening Day game at 4:10 p.m. Thursday, March 28.
Channel 5 has acquired the simulcast from Bally Sports Ohio after more than a decade of WKRC-TV providing a free over-the-air broadcast of BSO's cable telecast. WKRC-TV also has lost the Bengals local TV package after 35 years, including preseason game telecasts, as I reported last week.
WLWT-TV — the city's first TV station dating back to February 1948 — televised the first Reds Opening Day two months later, when the Pittsburgh Pirates played the Reds at Crosley Field April 19, 1948.
WLWT-TV remained the Reds TV flagship station, and operated the regional Reds TV network for 47 years, until giving up the rights in 1995.
"Everyone at WLWT-TV is thrilled to have the Opening Day Reds baseball game back at its historic home. Opening Day is a treasured tradition, and we're proud to bring live coverage of the entire day, including the game to our viewers," says Branden Frantz, WLWT-TV president and general manager.
As I reported last week, Bally Sports Ohio will not do its usual 4-1/2-hour live Opening Day telecast starting at 10 a.m., including coverage of the parade formation near Findlay Market and the parade.
However, WLWT-TV (and WCPO-TV, WXIX-TV and WKRC-TV) will provide extensive live parade coverage starting at noon, as well as live reports from Great American Ball Park on their pre-dawn local newscasts, websites and social media platforms.
The game is part of a full day of Opening Day coverage on WLWT-TV, WLWT.com, the WLWT mobile app and the station’s Very Local app, WLWT-TV announced today.
After the parade, WLWT-TV will air a half-hour special, Opening Day: Cincy's Hometown Holiday, from the station's archives and its Very Local app.
At 3 p.m. WLWT-TV will switch to BSO's live one-hour pregame show, which will include some of the on-field festivities. First pitch for the Reds-Washington Nationals game is 4:10 p.m.
In 1995, WLWT-TV's last season as Reds flagship, the Reds TV network consisted of 17 TV stations in six states, according to the Reds yearbook: Five in other Ohio (including WLWT-TV); four in Kentucky; three in Indiana; three in Tennessee; and one each in West Virginia and North Carolina.
The Bengals new TV partner is WXIX-TV. Fox 19 will air Bengals Weekly and From The Jungle: Bengals All Access Sunday mornings during the season. Fox 19 also will produce a weekly Bengals show that will air every Friday at 11:30 p.m. starting in August, and collaborate with the team "to deliver special post-draft, training camp and season preview shows throughout the multi-year partnership," according to the announcement.
