FOX Sports Southwest will televise 160 Texas Rangers games in 2019
IRVING, TX – FOX Sports Southwest will televise a total of 160 Texas Rangers games during the 2019 Major League Baseball regular season. The network will be entering its 19th season carrying Rangers baseball, and fifth year as the exclusive television rights holder.
The Rangers will open the regular season with an interleague matchup against the Chicago Cubs at Globe Life Park in Arlington on Thursday, March 28. FOX Sports Southwest’s Opening Day coverage will begin with an expanded Rangers LIVE pregame show at 1:00 p.m. CT that will lead into the game broadcast at 3:00 p.m. CT.
Dave Raymond will return for his third season as the Rangers’ primary play-by-play announcer on FOX Sports Southwest. Former big league pitcher CJ Nitkowski will also be back in the broadcast booth for a third season as lead color analyst, and will slide in as play-by-play announcer for select games as well. Rangers Hall of Famer Tom Grieve will serve as an analyst for 58 game telecasts in 2019. This season will be Grieve’s 25th as a Rangers broadcaster, the longest tenure of any TV broadcaster in club history. In addition, former Ranger and fan favorite David Murphy will join select game broadcasts and offer up his expertise in the analyst role.
Emily Jones will once again serve as a field reporter for the majority of home telecasts, as well as select games away from Globe Life Park. John Rhadigan, Lesley McCaslin, Erin Hartigan and Sarah Merrifield will contribute as in-game reporters as well.
FOX Sports Southwest’s extensive baseball lineup will include Rangers LIVE, which will air 30 minutes before and after every game telecast, except where noted otherwise. For all home games, Rangers LIVE will originate from Globe Life Park; when the team is on the road, the show will be televised from the FOX Sports studios in Irving, TX.
Rangers LIVE hosts and analysts will bring expert insight to the pre and postgame shows all season long on FOX Sports Southwest. The network’s talent roster includes former Rangers Mark McLemore, Mike Bacsik, David Murphy, Steve Buechele, and Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, along with TV veterans Dana Larson, John Rhadigan, Ric Renner, Erin Hartigan and Lesley McCaslin.
FOX Sports Southwest’s comprehensive coverage will also feature Rangers Insider, a bi-weekly all-access show hosted by Erin Hartigan. Each 30-minute episode will include player and coach profiles, complete with exclusive behind-the-scenes stories and interviews designed to bring fans closer to their hometown team.
All Rangers programming – including games and studio shows – on FOX Sports Southwest will be available on FOX Sports GO, the live streaming platform that showcases all of the FOX Sports Regional Networks’ events and studio programming through pay-TV providers.
Two Rangers games are slated for national broadcasts: Thursday, July 11, vs. Houston and Tuesday, Aug. 27, at Los Angeles (AL).
Three Rangers games will air on FOX Sports Southwest Plus: Wednesday, April 3, vs. Houston; Tuesday, April 9, and Wednesday, April 10, at Arizona. FOX Sports Southwest Plus is used by FOX Sports Southwest to simultaneously show multiple events on two channels and is available to all TV providers that carry FOX Sports Southwest.
As part of FOX Sports Southwest’s coverage of the Rangers’ final season at Globe Life Park, the network will deliver continued updates on the progress of Globe Life Field, and look back at memories from years past with in-game visits from former players and coaches associated with the current ballpark during Friday home telecasts.
Saturday home Rangers games will have a special feel in 2019, with FOX Sports Southwest set to produce eight special themed broadcasts over the course of the season, featuring concepts like Behind the Lens, The Art of Hitting and Youth Baseball. In addition, the network will provide a complete coverage of Adrian Beltre’s jersey retirement on Saturday, June 8.
Rangers telecasts on FOX Sports Southwest are available to over 10 million cable and satellite TV homes in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Rangers fans can find exclusive game-day content, special features and videos on FOXSportsSouthwest.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
