Atlanta Braves fans disrespected on TV schedule again this week

Once again, the Atlanta Braves fanbase will have to stop working to see their team.

It was inevitable, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying.  The Atlanta Braves will play their National League Division Series games against the Miami Marlins at 2pm Eastern time.

That’s not just the first game.  It’s all of them… unless there’s an elimination game on Saturday:  that one is slated for 4pm.  Woo hoo.

So here’s one of the largest fanbases in MLB and there’s no prime time game at all — none.

Here’s the lineup and the TV providers:

• GAME 1 – TUESDAY, OCT 6, 2 PM EDT on Fox Sports 1
• GAME 2 – WEDNESDAY, OCT 7, 2 PM EDT on the MLB Network
• GAME 3 – THURSDAY, OCT 8, 2 PM EDT on Fox Sports 1
• GAME 4 – FRIDAY, OCT 9, 2 PM EDT on Fox Sports 1 (if necessary)
• GAME 5 – SATURDAY, OCT 10, 4 PM EDT on Fox Sports 1 (if necessary)

All games will be inside the dome at Houston’s Minute Maid Park.  The winner advances to the NL Championship series, which will take place at Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX — the new home of the Texas Rangers — starting on Monday, October 12 on Fox and/or FS1.

The Braves and Marlins are getting the short straw on game times for a couple of reasons:

• The Yankees didn’t get bounced in the first round, therefore They Must Be Entitled to Prime Time Scheduling (all of their games are at 7 or 8 PM).
• Every other game either happens on the West Coast (Dodger Stadium) or involves a California team (Padres vs. Dodgers).

Still, it would be nice if there was at least one game at 7 or 8 pm for the Braves to show that their fans know how to use a remote control after getting home in the evening.

The New York City metro area does indeed hold the largest media market in North America which numbers roughly 6.8 million households in the metro area plus parts of Connecticut, New Jersey, and a smidge into Pennsylvania.

Atlanta itself ranks 10th (2.27 million), but that doesn’t speak of the breadth of the Atlanta Braves’ reach, which includes most of the deep South, including Alabama, Mississippi, much of North and South Carolina, and significant portions of Florida and Tennessee… as a minimum.

Seatgeek’s stats show that the Braves have the strongest fan representation in 515 counties across the Deep South:  the largest number of counties in the country “by a wide margin”.

But that doesn’t seem to matter — and this schedule won’t do anything to support any changes amongst network opinion-makers since prime time isn’t given a chance for the Braves.

So plan ahead fans:  get your work schedule figured out for this week and see if there’s a way to work around these terrible times.

See you at 2pm on Tuesday… maybe.