Officials of Westinghouse Broadcasting, the parent company
of mid-Atlantic RSN Home Team Sports, are "expected to mount a
last gasp effort to keep" Orioles TV rights in response to a
proposal from Fox/TCI's cable channel, according to Milton Kent
of the Baltimore SUN. However, sources tell Kent the Fox/TCI
deal with the O's is "completed and not likely to be overturned
by Westinghouse's efforts." Included in the Westinghouse
proposal is an offer for its newly acquired radio arm, Infinity,
to begin carrying O's games on company owned stations in
Baltimore and Washington. Sources indicate the final O's package
will represent a "significant increase" in the estimated $12.5M
annually the club receives from over-the-air and cable TV and
radio rights (Baltimore SUN, 8/19).
SUBTLE SELL: In Akron, BEACON JOURNAL TV writer R.D.
Heldenfels previews SportsChannel Ohio's commercial free Indians-
Rangers game tonight in honor of SportsChannel having more than 3
million subscribers. But he adds, "let's look at what
SportsChannel is putting into those breaks," as during the spots,
SportsChannel will feature a behind-the-scenes look at their
network, and Heldenfels see the spots as "selling you a product,
which is SportsChannel. ... I'm being sold. The game isn't going
to be commercial-free so much as it will feature a different
commercial" (Akron BEACON JOURNAL, 8/19).
