On TV, Radio, Digital, Mobile and in Print; Sportsnet has all the Bases Covered with Multiplatform Coverage of the Entire 2012 Toronto Blue Jays Season

- Every game broadcast on Sportsnet and Sportsnet 590 The Fan; 30-minute pre-game show Blue Jays Central to air prior to every game -
-Live streaming of all 162 games on desktop & mobile via RogersAnyplaceTV.com & Rogers Live Mobile app-
-Special 15-page Blue Jays Preview in current issue of Sportsnet magazine, on newsstands now -
-Season opener features Toronto @ Cleveland, April 5 at 2:30 p.m. ET-

TORONTO, March 27, 2012 /CNW/ - Play ball! Sportsnet is taking fans to every Blue Jays game this season with comprehensive coverage across TV, radio, online, mobile and print, headlined by all 162 games broadcast on Sportsnet and Sportsnet 590 The Fan.  Canadians will get their first look at the Blue Jays in regular season action - new uniforms and all - during the season opener on Thursday, April 5, as Toronto takes on the Indians in Cleveland at 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific. Plus, fans at work or on the go can catch live streaming of all 162 games on desktop and mobile via RogersAnyplaceTV.com and Rogers Live Mobile app, with tablet availability coming this April (please see full details below).

Former Blue Jay and World Series Champion Gregg Zaun and host Jamie Campbell set the stage for every game with Blue Jays Central, airing on TV 30 minutes prior to all Blue Jays broadcasts. Blue Jays Central also keeps fans up-to-date on all the latest and greatest from around Major League Baseball, and includes Zaun's unique inside look at the game of baseball with the popular segment Zaun 101.  Two other former Blue Jays round out Sportsnet's television broadcast team as Buck Martinez returns to the broadcast booth to call the play-by-play action alongside analyst Pat Tabler.

Following the opening series in Cleveland, the Blue Jays and Sportsnet return home to Rogers Centre in Toronto for the much anticipated - and sold out - Honda Home Opener versus the Boston Red Sox on Monday, April 9. Coverage gets underway with a special edition of Sportsnet Connected and Blue Jays Central at 6 p.m. ET on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific. In addition, Sportsnet 590 The Fan and Sportsnet ONE will broadcast Prime Time Sports with host Bob McCown live from Rogers Centre starting at 4 p.m. ET.  

Prior to the start of the regular season, Sportsnet's best-in-class team of analysts including Campbell, Zaun, Martinez and Hazel Mae, prep fans for what to expect for the 2012 baseball season with the MLB Preview Show on Sunday, April 1 at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific). The 90-minute broadcast includes features on Blue Jays superstars Jose Bautista and Ricky Romero, while Hazel Mae speaks with Detroit Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder; Ozzie Guillen, manager of the Miami Marlins; and five-time World Series Champion pitcher Mariano Rivera.

Capping off the MLB Preview Show is Fair Ball, a 30-minute documentary which follows Gregg Zaun on an emotional and inspiring journey to Uganda, where he learned the transcendent power of the game as a little league baseball team from Langley B.C. traveled half way around the globe to play Uganda's little league baseball team on their home soil, thanks to the efforts of Right to Play and others.

Sportsnet keeps Blue Jays fans connected to their team all season long with unprecedented access across the following platforms:

TV - Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific / Sportsnet ONE
Sportsnet's comprehensive Blue Jays 2012 broadcast package includes 127 games on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West, and Pacific, with the remaining 35 games nationally distributed on Sportsnet One. All games are broadcast in HD. Please see below for complete broadcast schedule.

Radio - Sportsnet 590 The FAN and Sportsnet 960 The FAN
Sportsnet 590 The FAN is home to all 162 Blue Jays games, with Calgary's Sportsnet 960 The Fan also broadcasting 60 games in 2012. The voice of summer, Jerry Howarth, returns to call the games alongside Alan Ashby. Mike Wilner rounds out the in-game team as host.  In addition to game broadcasts, Sportsnet 590 The Fan fuels fans all summer with exclusive Blue Jays content, including weekly Blue Jays interviews and frequent game day updates.

Digital - sportsnet.ca
From the opening pitch to the final out, sportsnet.ca is the ultimate Blue Jays fan destination for news, analysis, opinion and video, providing the following features to keep fans in the know all baseball season long:

• Blue Jays Season Preview: primes fans for the upcoming season with a digital roundtable featuring Sportsnet personalities providing pre-season insight and analysis, "Meet the Blue Jays 2012" feature delineating each player on the 25-man roster, Scott Carson's division-by-division "Burning Questions" and a special season preview edition of Ask Buck Martinez
• MLB Mashup: a new multimedia, multi-contributor blog with news, radio interviews, broadcast panels and game highlights from the Blue Jays and around MLB
• Blue Jays Gamezone Experience: Game day chats and live game experience updating stats and out-of-town scores, all season long
• Zaun 101: the former World Series champion catcher breaks down elements of the game each week
• Biggest and best roster of the country's top baseball writers: includes Shi Davidi, Michael Grange, Stephen Brunt, Buck Martinez, Tao of Stieb, Scott Carson and more

Rogers Mobile & Desktop
Rogers customers can stream all 162 games at home, at work and on the go, on desktop and mobile via RogersAnyplaceTV.com and Rogers Live Mobile app:

• Rogers Cable customers in ON, NB, NFLD who subscribe to Sportsnet and Sportsnet ONE can see all the action on RogersAnyplaceTV.com
• Rogers Wireless customers across the country will see every pitch when they subscribe to the Rogers Live Mobile app, available for mobile devices through the Apple App Store, Google Play and Blackberry App World. The app's subscription is $5/month for 5 hours of data and also offers additional TV programming
• For more information, please visit rogersanyplacetv.com/sports

Print - Sportsnet magazine
Sportsnet magazine's Toronto Blue Jay preview, on newsstands now, gets fans primed for the Blue Jays 2012 season, providing a comprehensive 15-page guide to this year's team.

Packed with insight and analysis, the preview includes a report on Colby Rasmus' renewed sense of focus by assistant editor Arden Zwelling, a one-on-one between columnist Stephen Brunt and Blue Jays president Paul Beeston, and Mike Wilner's take on how the Blue Jays offence could go from good to overwhelming. To cap off the preview, Blue Jays Central duo Jamie Campbell and Gregg Zaun provide a complete player-by-player breakdown of the team's roster.

TALENT INTERVIEWS:
All of Sportsnet's Blue Jays broadcast talent are available for interviews to discuss Toronto's upcoming season. 

For the full 2012 Toronto Blue Jays broadcast schedule on Sportsnet, please click on the link below and proceed to open the file:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/blue_jays_2012_schedule_broadcast.xls

About Sportsnet
Sportsnet connects Canadian sports fans to their favourite teams and athletes, using five platforms: TV, Radio, Print, Online and Mobile. Sportsnet is Fuelled By Fans, and delivers storytelling on a local, regional, national and global level. The multiplatform brand consists of Sportsnet, sportsnet.ca, Sportsnet 590 The FAN, Sportsnet 960 The FAN, Sportsnet magazine, Sportsnet Mobile and the Sportsnet iPad app. Sportsnet is the Canadian leader in NHL and MLB television broadcasts and is home to 162 Toronto Blue Jays games, plus MLB Playoffs and the World Series. Sportsnet is an official broadcaster of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and also offers an exciting sports lineup including the NFL, the Rogers Cup tennis tournament, the Memorial Cup, and soccer programming with UEFA Champions League, Barclays Premier League, MLS Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and Canadian national team matches for men and women. Sportsnet Connected is the network's nightly news program, providing regional and national coverage of the day's events in the world of sports.

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Jennifer Neziol, Director of Communications, [email protected], 416-764-6361
Adam Auckbaraullee, Communications Officer, [email protected], 416-764-6368
Jennifer Cram, Communications Coordinator, [email protected], 416-764-6364