ATLANTA — The 2007 Atlanta Braves TBS TV crew will include a limited presence by Skip Caray and none by Pete Van Wieren, a TBS official confirmed Tuesday.
Caray and Van Wieren will remain the radio voices of the team through 2009, as announced Monday by the team and Clear Channel radio. But Turner Sports senior director of public relations Jeff Pomeroy confirmed Tuesday that Van Wieren will not be part of the TBS crew and Caray will work only 10 games.
Pomeroy said the TBS crew for the network’s 70 Braves telecasts in 2007 has not been finalized, though he said Caray’s son, Chip, will be part of the crew.
‘‘Skip knew when we were bringing in Chip he would have a more limited role,’’ Pomeroy told The Associated Press.
Pomeroy said Van Wieren’s contract, including his pension, already has shifted from TBS to the Atlanta Braves as an early part of the Time Warner sale of the team to Liberty Media.
‘‘His contract is specifically through the Braves, so with the selling of the Braves he works for the Braves,’’ Pomeroy said. ‘‘It was their decision to then hire him as their radio guy. They’re paying him. They decided they wanted to have him for 162 games. That was their right first.’’
Caray and Van Wieren, members of the Braves Hall of Fame, have been broadcasting Braves games since 1976. This will be their 32nd season in the Braves radio network.
The TBS plans for Caray and Van Wieren were first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday. Each expressed satisfaction with the developments.
‘‘The 10 on TV will just remind me how much better I like radio anyway,’’ Caray told the paper. ‘‘It’s getting to be a young man’s game on TV, and I don’t know what they want on TV anymore.’’
Said Van Wieren: ‘‘I’ve had 31 great years on the TV side, but (TBS) is going in a different direction, going with the national package. My heart really lies with the Braves.’’
In 2008, TBS will begin its new national Major League Baseball contract, including exclusive rights to the division series playoffs and one league championship series. WTBS will carry 45 Braves games in the Atlanta area that season.
The 2007 Braves TV package includes 55 games on Sport South and 25 games on FSN.
Caray and Van Wieren will remain the radio voices of the team through 2009, as announced Monday by the team and Clear Channel radio. But Turner Sports senior director of public relations Jeff Pomeroy confirmed Tuesday that Van Wieren will not be part of the TBS crew and Caray will work only 10 games.
Pomeroy said the TBS crew for the network’s 70 Braves telecasts in 2007 has not been finalized, though he said Caray’s son, Chip, will be part of the crew.
‘‘Skip knew when we were bringing in Chip he would have a more limited role,’’ Pomeroy told The Associated Press.
Pomeroy said Van Wieren’s contract, including his pension, already has shifted from TBS to the Atlanta Braves as an early part of the Time Warner sale of the team to Liberty Media.
‘‘His contract is specifically through the Braves, so with the selling of the Braves he works for the Braves,’’ Pomeroy said. ‘‘It was their decision to then hire him as their radio guy. They’re paying him. They decided they wanted to have him for 162 games. That was their right first.’’
Caray and Van Wieren, members of the Braves Hall of Fame, have been broadcasting Braves games since 1976. This will be their 32nd season in the Braves radio network.
The TBS plans for Caray and Van Wieren were first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday. Each expressed satisfaction with the developments.
‘‘The 10 on TV will just remind me how much better I like radio anyway,’’ Caray told the paper. ‘‘It’s getting to be a young man’s game on TV, and I don’t know what they want on TV anymore.’’
Said Van Wieren: ‘‘I’ve had 31 great years on the TV side, but (TBS) is going in a different direction, going with the national package. My heart really lies with the Braves.’’
In 2008, TBS will begin its new national Major League Baseball contract, including exclusive rights to the division series playoffs and one league championship series. WTBS will carry 45 Braves games in the Atlanta area that season.
The 2007 Braves TV package includes 55 games on Sport South and 25 games on FSN.
