The following is a list of national American television and radio networks and announcers that have broadcast World Series games over the years, as well as local flagship radio stations that have aired them since 1982.
Television Television coverage of the World Series began in 1947, but with TV broadcasting still in its infancy and the limited number of coaxial inter-connected stations, telecasts during the first four years were open to any channel with a network affiliation in selected markets. 1951 marked the first time that the World Series aired on one network, NBC, as well as the first to be seen from coast to coast. NBC continued to televise the World Series until new broadcast rights deals began in 1976 that had NBC televise in even years and ABC in odd years. CBS then had the series from 1990 to 1993. Following a players' strike that canceled the 1994 World Series, games of the 1995 World Series were split between ABC and NBC as part of The Baseball Network, a revenue-sharing joint venture between the two networks and Major League Baseball. Under the rights from 1996 to 2000, Fox televised in even years and NBC in odd years. Since 2001, Fox has been the exclusive broadcaster of the World Series.
Eight different men have called eight or more different World Series telecasts as either play-by-play announcers or color commentators. They are (through 2025) Joe Buck and Tim McCarver (both 24), Curt Gowdy (12), Mel Allen and Vin Scully (both 11), Joe Garagiola and John Smoltz (both 10), Tony Kubek and Al Michaels (both 8).
2020s YearNetworkPlay-by-playColor commentator(s)Field reporter(s)Pregame hostsPregame analystsTrophy presentation2026Fox/Fox OneJoe DavisJohn SmoltzKen Rosenthal and Tom VerducciKevin BurkhardtAlex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Derek JeterKevin Burkhardt2025Fox/Fox One (US)Joe DavisJohn SmoltzKen Rosenthal and Tom VerducciKevin BurkhardtAlex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Derek JeterKevin BurkhardtCitytv (Canada)Sportsnet/Sportsnet+ (Canada)Dan ShulmanBuck MartinezHazel Mae, Caleb Joseph, and Kevin PillarJamie CampbellJoe Siddall and Madison Shipman2024FoxJoe DavisJohn SmoltzKen Rosenthal and Tom VerducciKevin BurkhardtAlex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Derek JeterKevin Burkhardt2023FoxJoe DavisJohn SmoltzKen Rosenthal and Tom VerducciKevin BurkhardtAlex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Derek JeterKevin Burkhardt2022FoxJoe DavisJohn SmoltzKen Rosenthal and Tom VerducciKevin BurkhardtAlex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Frank ThomasKevin Burkhardt2021FoxJoe BuckJohn SmoltzKen Rosenthal and Tom VerducciKevin BurkhardtAlex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Frank ThomasKevin Burkhardt2020FoxJoe BuckJohn SmoltzKen Rosenthal and Tom VerducciKevin BurkhardtAlex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Frank ThomasTom Verducci
Notes Per the current broadcast agreement, the World Series will be televised by Fox through 2028. 2022 - Tom Verducci filled in for Kevin Burkhardt as postgame host for Game 2 due to Burkhardt calling the San Francisco 49ers-Los Angeles Rams Week 8 NFL game for Fox. Beginning with the 2022 postseason, MLB allowed Sportsnet, the home network of the Toronto Blue Jays, to produce their own broadcasts of the team's games in Canada rather than a mere simulcast of the American network feed or an MLB International-produced broadcast. For World Series broadcasts, Sportsnet simulcasts the American broadcast feed on its sister over-the-air station Citytv, which has in the past carried U.S. network coverage of major events being aired on Sportsnet to avail of simultaneous substitution rules, whereby the American network feed is substituted with a Canadian broadcast channel on cable providers.
2010s YearNetworkPlay-by-playColor commentator(s)Field reporter(s)Pregame hostsPregame analystsTrophy presentation2019FoxJoe BuckJohn SmoltzKen Rosenthal and Tom VerducciKevin BurkhardtAlex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Frank ThomasKevin Burkhardt2018FoxJoe BuckJohn SmoltzKen Rosenthal and Tom VerducciKevin BurkhardtAlex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Frank ThomasKevin Burkhardt2017FoxJoe BuckJohn SmoltzKen Rosenthal and Tom VerducciKevin BurkhardtAlex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Keith Hernandez, and Frank ThomasKevin Burkhardt2016FoxJoe BuckJohn SmoltzKen Rosenthal and Tom VerducciKevin BurkhardtAlex Rodriguez, Frank Thomas, Pete Rose, and Tom VerducciKevin Burkhardt2015FoxJoe BuckHarold Reynolds and Tom VerducciKen Rosenthal and Erin Andrews Kevin BurkhardtAlex Rodriguez, Raúl Ibañez, Frank Thomas, Pete Rose (Games 1–3), and Kevin Millar (Games 4–5)Erin Andrews2014FoxJoe BuckHarold Reynolds and Tom VerducciKen Rosenthal and Erin AndrewsKevin BurkhardtGabe Kapler, Frank Thomas, Nick Swisher, and David Ortiz (Games 1–2)Erin Andrews2013FoxJoe BuckTim McCarverKen Rosenthal and Erin AndrewsMatt VasgersianHarold Reynolds, Jimmy Rollins, and A. J. PierzynskiErin Andrews2012FoxJoe BuckTim McCarverKen RosenthalErin Andrews (Games 1–2, 4)Chris Myers (Game 3)Matt VasgersianHarold Reynolds, Eric Karros, and A. J. PierzynskiErin Andrews2011FoxJoe BuckTim McCarverKen RosenthalChris RoseEric Karros and A. J. PierzynskiChris Rose2010FoxJoe BuckTim McCarverKen RosenthalChris RoseEric Karros and Ozzie GuillénChris Rose
Notes 2010 – For the second consecutive year, World Series games had earlier start times in hopes of attracting younger viewers. The first pitch was just before 8 p.m. EDT for Games 1–2, and 5, while Game 3 started at 7 p.m. EDT. Game 4, however, started at 8:22 p.m. EDT to accommodate Fox's coverage of an NFL game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Arizona Cardinals. Many viewers in the New York City and Philadelphia markets were unable to see Games 1 and 2 because News Corporation, Fox's parent company, pulled WNYW and WTXF from cable provider Cablevision on October 16 because of a carriage dispute. An agreement was reached just before Game 3. MLB International syndicated its own telecast of the series, with announcers Gary Thorne and Rick Sutcliffe, to various networks outside the U.S. ESPN America broadcast the series live in the UK and in Europe. Additionally, the American Forces Network and Canadian Forces Radio and Television carried the games to U.S. and Canadian service personnel stationed around the globe. Fox Deportes carried the Series in Spanish on American cable and satellite TV. The overall national Nielsen rating for the five games was 8.4, tied with the 2008 World Series for the event's lowest-ever TV rating. Game 4 was beaten in the ratings by a Pittsburgh Steelers-New Orleans Saints game on NBC Sunday Night Football, the first time a World Series game was outdrawn by a regular-season NFL contest airing in the same time slot. The 2011 World Series was televised in the United States and Canada by Fox. Joe Buck called play-byplay on his 14th World Series for the network, dating back to , while color commentator Tim McCarver handled his 22nd World Series since . Ken Rosenthal served as field reporter for the games, while Chris Rose hosted the pregame and postgame coverage with analysts A. J. Pierzynski and Eric Karros. MLB International syndicated television coverage of the 2011 World Series (with Gary Thorne and Rick Sutcliffe announcing) to viewers outside of North America. In the United States, Fox televised the 2012 World Series, with Joe Buck calling play-by-play in his 15th World Series, and Tim McCarver handling color commentary for his 23rd World Series. Ken Rosenthal also appeared on the Fox telecasts as a field reporter, with Erin Andrews and Chris Myers joining him for select games. MLB International syndicated its own telecast of the series, with announcers Gary Thorne and Rick Sutcliffe, to various networks outside the U.S. Additionally, the American Forces Network and Canadian Forces Radio and Television carried the games to U.S. and Canadian service personnel stationed around the globe. Fox Deportes carried the Series in Spanish on American cable and satellite TV. On August 24, Tribune removed affiliate WTIC from Cablevision systems in Connecticut, causing viewers to miss Games 1 and 2 of the series. An agreement between Cablevision and Tribune was reached on October 26, the day before Game 3. According to Nielsen Media Research, the four-game series on Fox averaged a record-low 7.6 rating and 12 share. The previous low was an 8.4 rating for both the 2008 and the 2010 World Series, which each went five games. The 6.1 rating in Game 3 matched the lowest rating for any World Series game with Game 3 in 2008; that year, a rain delay moved the start of the game to after 10 p.m. on the East Coast with the game not ending until 1:47 a.m. The 2013 World Series was Tim McCarver's final World Series as a broadcaster, as he announced that he would retire from national broadcasting after the season. He continued calling select local St. Louis Cardinals games until 2022. A partnership with Fox Sports featured Pearl Jam as the November artist of the month for all entities within the Fox Sports domain and license 48 songs from their catalog to play during the 2013 World Series. Their music was included in anything from "opening teases and commercial bumpers to montages, as well as additional promotional inventory across Fox prime-time and cable." Major League Baseball International syndicated the television coverage outside Canada and the U.S., with English-language commentary provided by Baltimore Orioles play-by-play announcer Gary Thorne and ESPN analyst Rick Sutcliffe. 2014 World Series – Fox Deportes offered a Spanish-language telecast of the series, with Pablo Alsina, Duaner Sánchez, and José Tolentino commentating. MLB International televised the series outside the U.S. and Canada, with Gary Thorne and Rick Sutcliffe announcing. The World Series started on a Tuesday for the first time since 1990, instead of a Wednesday as in previous years. The change also meant that the series only had to compete with the National Football League on one night (Sunday) instead of three (Thursday, Sunday, and Monday). The 2014 World Series averaged an 8.3/14 rating, making it the second-worst-rated World Series in Major League Baseball history. Through six games, the series was averaging 7.4, which would have made it the worst-rated World Series, but Game 7 produced a respectable 13.7 to bolster the series average enough to avoid the notorious distinction. The 2014 World Series set records for lowest-rated Games 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 in World Series history. The previous Game 7 in World Series history occurred in 2011, when the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers produced a 14.7 rating, a full 1.0 over 2014's Game 7. 2014 is the 5th consecutive year in which the World Series rating was under 10.0 and the 6th in the last 7th. 2015 – Fox suffered an outage during their broadcast of Game 1, resulting in a loss of coverage for 15 minutes, followed a 5-minute delay in-game while officials addressed the availability of video review due to the loss of Fox's feed. The teams agreed to allow the use of footage from MLB International's world feed of the game for video review, while Fox also temporarily switched to the MLB International feed with Matt Vasgersian and John Smoltz, later replaced by Joe Buck, Harold Reynolds, and Tom Verducci before the main Fox Sports production was restored.