FOX Sports will carry the 2026 World Series FOX broadcast as the exclusive television home of a matchup that guarantees a first-time champion. The Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers open the series on Friday, Oct. 23, and the network announced its announcing crews, pregame plans and production technology on Thursday afternoon.
The series marks FOX’s 29th World Series broadcast. With neither franchise having previously won the title, the Fall Classic will produce a new champion regardless of outcome.
Studio desk and game call
Kevin Burkhardt will anchor FOX’s studio coverage. He will be joined by analysts Derek Jeter, David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez, a quartet that has now worked four consecutive World Series together.
In the booth, Joe Davis handles play-by-play and John Smoltz provides color commentary. The pairing is entering its fifth consecutive World Series as a team.
Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci will report from the field during games and conduct interviews. Both also contribute to the pregame show.
A one-hour pregame show before every game
FOX will air a one-hour pregame show on site before each game of the series. The Game 1 edition includes a Tom Rinaldi feature on Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, a profile of Rays infielder Junior Caminero and a tribute to Bob Uecker.
FOX Deportes team
Spanish-language coverage will be handled by a FOX Deportes team that includes José Pablo Coello, Gabriel Medina, Diego Venegas and Rodrigo Arana. Mayra Gomez and Steffy Aradillas also contribute to the broadcasts.
New cameras and expanded augmented reality
The network is adding 4K and 8K Nucleus cameras to its World Series production. FOX has also expanded its augmented reality initiatives with Major League Baseball, using tracking data for pitches and swings.
Among the new AR elements is the UmpCam AR Strike Zone, which places viewers behind the plate with a live strike zone displayed. High-speed cameras will capture ball spin and close plays, while aerial drones synchronize action from multiple field locations.
Multiple Dirt Cams and Base Cams, along with dozens of stadium microphones, round out the production’s on-field and audio tools. The approach continues a postseason model that earned FOX four Sports Emmy Awards for its coverage of last year’s playoffs.
What is not yet known
FOX did not disclose game times, venue details or the length of the series in its announcement. The full set of role assignments for the FOX Deportes team was also not specified, and the network named only the UmpCam AR Strike Zone among its specific AR features.
