Fox Sports En Español acquires exclusive Spanish-Language rights to Major League Baseball.

Fox Sports en Español announced it has extended its exclusive Spanish-language rights to Major League Baseball (MLB) through the 2013 season. As part of the expanded seven-year deal, a sublicensing agreement with Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Sports en Español will for the first time offer live and exclusive Spanish-language coverage of approximately 26 regular season games each year. Fox Sports en Español premieres its coverage of the 2007 season this Saturday, April 7 when the San Francisco Giants take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The broadcast will begin with a live pre-game show at 3:30 ET/12:30 PT showcasing the latest news and results from around the league, with an emphasis on Latino players.

For the seventh consecutive year, Fox Sports en Español will also offer live and exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the MLB postseason, including the League Championship Series and the World Series. Coverage of the League Championship Series will alternate each year, starting with the ALCS this year and the NLCS in 2008. The All-Star Game will return to the network for the fourth consecutive season on July 10, live from AT&T Park in San Francisco.

“We’re proud to extend our coverage of MLB and for the first time ever deliver to our viewers telecasts of regular-season games in their language,” said David Sternberg, executive vice president and general manager of Fox Sports en Español. “We look forward to yet another exciting year of baseball and chronicling the tremendous impact Latino players continue to have on America’s national pastime.”

Luis Rodriguez will host the pre-game show each Saturday, while Adrian Garcia Marquez and Carlos Hernandez are returning to provide in-studio commentary and analysis. Veteran commentators Pepe Mantilla and Jose Tolentino will also make appearances throughout the season.