Comcast Hometown Network To Televise 31 Live Minor League Baseball Games In 2013, Including June 18 California-Carolina League All-Star Game

LIVERMORE, Calif., April 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Hometown Network (http://comcasthometown.com), Comcast's regional cable network covering Northern and Central California, today announced that it will televise 31 LIVE minor league baseball games from the California League (www.californialeague.com) and the Pacific Coast League (www.pclbaseball.com) in 2013.  A highlight of this season's schedule will be the California-Carolina League All-Star Game on June 18^th.  The telecasts will begin on Thursday, April 4^th at 7:00 p.m. with the Fresno Grizzlies season opener against the Tacoma Rainiers (see complete schedule below). 

All of the Comcast Hometown Network games will originate LIVE from either Chukchansi Park (home of the Fresno Grizzlies www.fresnogrizzlies.com) or San Jose Municipal Stadium (home of the San Jose Giants http://sjgiants.com/).  The telecasts will be available on Channel 104 to all Comcast digital cable customers.

The California-Carolina League All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday, June 18 from Municipal Stadium in San Jose, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:35 p.m.  In addition to the live game broadcast, Comcast Hometown Network will also provide pregame and postgame coverage of this special event.

"Comcast Hometown Network is excited to bring another action-packed season of unique content to baseball fans throughout Northern and Central California," said Jeff Giles, General Manager of Comcast Hometown Network. "This year, our viewers will not only be able to keep up with the top baseball talent on the West Coast, but will also be able to experience one the of the key 2013 Bay Area sports events  with the live telecast of the California-Carolina League All-Star Game on June 18 in San Jose."

Play-by-play duties for the games originating from San Jose Municipal Stadium will be handled by San Jose Giants radio announcer Joe Ritzo.  For games at Chukchansi Park, Fresno Grizzlies radio announcer Doug Greenwald will do play-by-play.  Veteran minor league baseball announcer and MLB Network reporter Joe Castellano and San Jose Giants analyst Rocky Koplik will provide color commentary for the Comcast Hometown Network baseball telecasts.  In-game reporting for San Jose Giants contests will be split between Kate Scott from sports radio station KNBR 680 AM and Gianna Franco of sports radio station 95.7 FM The Game.  Anna Kagarakis will handle in-game reporting for Fresno Grizzlies games.

The LIVE games will be replayed on Comcast Hometown Network (Channel 104), and will also be available any time of the day or night via Comcast's popular ON DEMAND platform, which is free to Comcast digital customers.  To view minor league baseball games ON DEMAND, Comcast Digital Cable customers can tune to Channel 1 on their Digital Cable lineup or press the ON DEMAND button on their remote control, then click on the "Get Local" section, then click on "Comcast Hometown Network."

The California League is a Class A Advanced minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California.  Comprised of 10 teams that are affiliated with Major League Baseball teams such as the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics, the California League is divided into a Northern Division and a Southern Division.  The Southern Division features five teams from the sprawling metropolitan areas of Southern California, and the Northern Division features four teams in California's growing Central Valley as well the San Jose Giants in the Bay Area.

The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Triple-A minor baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. The PCL consists of the American Conference (featuring the Albuquerque Isotopes, Iowa Cubs, Memphis Redbirds, Nashville Sounds, New Orleans Zephyrs, Oklahoma City RedHawks, Omaha Storm Chasers, and the Round Rock Express) and the Pacific Conference (featuring the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, Fresno Grizzlies, Las Vegas 51s, Reno Aces, Sacramento River Cats, Salt Lake Bees, Tacoma Rainiers and the Tucson Padres).

Following is Comcast Hometown Network's 2013 baseball telecast schedule:

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

About Comcast Hometown Network
Comcast Hometown Network (CHN) is a regional cable network produced by Comcast and available in the San Francisco Bay Area and Central California on Digital Channel 104.  Available to more than 2 million homes in Northern and Central California as a part of Comcast's commitment to the communities that it serves, Comcast Hometown Network is a 24/7 channel that includes original regional programming and unique local content that you can't get anywhere else.  CHN televises key high school football and basketball matchups, San Francisco Bulls and Stockton Thunder hockey games from the ECHL and San Jose SaberCats games from the Arena Football League.  Comcast Hometown Network is different from Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and Comcast SportsNet California.

About Comcast Cable
Comcast Cable is the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses.  Comcast has invested in technology to build an advanced network that delivers among the fastest broadband speeds, and brings customers personalized video, communications and home management offerings.  Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company.  Visit http://www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

SOURCE Comcast Hometown Network