After HTS extended TV rights deals for the Orioles,
Bullets and Capitals last October at over a 150% markup by
"fending off a bid" from Fox/TCI, Milton Kent of the
Baltimore SUN questions whether the mid-Atlantic RSN
"burn[ed] the village in order to save the house?" This
comes after reports that O's analyst Jim Palmer is
auditioning for a Yankees job after being asked to take a
pay cut. Palmer: "I'm sensitive to what HTS is going
through. This is about having their head above water.
Nobody's throwing them a life raft yet." Kent notes sources
familiar with HTS' production claim the company has applied
some "cost-cutting measures," including "laying off some
support personnel, limiting the use of free-lance directors,
using graphics for live game telecasts from the Bethesda
headquarters instead of on-site and reducing the amount of
overtime." HTS' Ted Ewanciw said the company "has not
reduced the number of cameras and is offering competitive
salaries." Kent: "One must wonder if Fox/TCI officials
aren't circling above the fray, waiting for the first sign
that they can pounce and collect the remains of a competitor
left crippled by the battle" (Baltimore SUN, 1/24).
