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Fox crews in Philly for three games in two days

For most, two National League Championship Series games coupled with an Eagles game make for a jam-packed weekend on the couch or in the stadiums. For Fox Sports, it makes for a weekend full of work.

For most, two National League Championship Series games coupled with an Eagles game make for a jam-packed weekend on the couch or in the stadiums. For Fox Sports, it makes for a weekend full of work.

It starts off Saturday night when the Phillies meet the Giants in Game 1 of the NLCS. The following day, the Eagles will face off against the Falcons at 1 p.m before the Phillies and Giants meet in Game 2, at 8:19 p.m. All three games will be carried on Fox.

To adequately cover three important games in 2 days, a lot of manpower is required. For the weekend, more than 200 employees will be sent to Philadelphia, said Eric Shanks, president of Fox Sports.

"We're bringing our entire baseball preseason show on the road," Shanks said. "We'll set up a pregame show there in and be there for both games. The crew that we have there for football is one of our larger crews also. We have Tony Siragusa on the sidelines. 'Goose' has a big setup down there."

In addition to the sheer number of workers required to produce a game, another issue that a network faces is the difficulty of predicting how long a game will take. While the Phillies-Giants series could produce shorter games due to pitching duels, Fox is prepared for any length, Shanks said.

"I don't think it's about the length of the game," Shanks said. "I think it's about getting people, getting younger people, to watch . . . If the game's compelling, people are going to stick around, no matter how long it is."

One of the changes for Fox's coverage of the World Series is that Game 3 will start an hour earlier than the other games. While an earlier start time is often a benefit for the viewer, it usually hurts the network that broadcasts the game. Game 3 could serve as a test to see if a daytime World Series game is feasible, Shanks said.

"The earlier a game starts, the lower the rating is," Shanks said. "General Motors , MLB and Fox were all able to work out moving the start time of Game 3 up an hour early. I think that's a first step to seeing if could work."

Fox plans to try to incorporate the sports into each other. Depending on how Saturday's game turns out, Fox hopes that a Phillies player can step into the press box at Lincoln Financial Field while an Eagles player could return the favor later Sunday night.

Fox didn't carry the Division Series, so Saturday's game marks the beginning of its postseason coverage.