New cable deals bringing Pacers games into more homes in
Marion County are "unlikely to ease" the team's "financial
slump," according to Mary Francis of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS.
Last night's game was the first of 21 games to be aired on
Comcast Cable of Indianapolis and Jones Cable of Carmel, bringing
the Pacers to about 250,000 more cable subscribers. The team
already had deals with American Cablevision and Post-Newsweek
systems for the package. Larry Mago, Pacers Dir of Broadcasting,
would not reveal how much the team is making on the cable deals,
but city officials say it "won't be enough to make the team
profitable." In the year ending June 30 '95, the team reported a
$2.6M loss, and in '94, the team lost $3.1M. When the team does
not turn a profit, the city's Capital Improvement Board pays
about $2M in taxpayer dollars to cover utilities and bond
payments at Market Square Arena. If the team does make a profit,
it "is expected to pay back the CIB for those advances," which
now total around $15M. Once that is repaid, the Pacers "are to
give the CIB 50% of any net cash flow." Francis writes the "key
to making money in TV land is spreading beyond the Indianapolis
area," and if the team "eventually makes deals with every cable
company possible," it could generate more than $1M.
Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith has "been concerned for
several years about cable stations' lack of interest in
broadcasting the games," and his staff helped negotiations
between the team and Comcast (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 1/12).
REGGIE TIME: The "Reggie Miller Show," a weekly talk show,
premiers Saturday on WTHR in Indianapolis. Steve Hall writes the
show "represents a lot of money for WTHR," including a $125,000
contract for Miller. The show is slated through the season
(INDIANAPOLIS STAR/NEWS, 1/11).
