Judge Ronald Kline of the Orange County Superior Court
has denied a request by the Mighty Ducks to force Fox Sports
West 2 (FSW2) to simulcast Ducks games on Fox Sports West
(FSW). The ruling allows FSW2 to continue exclusively
telecasting Ducks games as scheduled (FSW2). In Orange
County, Barbara Kingsley writes Kline saw "no compelling
reason" to immediately stop Fox from putting Ducks games on
FSW2, but he will hear arguments for a permanent injunction
February 25, when Ducks lawyers will ask Kline to move Ducks
telecasts for the remainder of the season. Kingsley writes
"it's almost too late for the courts to make an impact on
this season," noting a February 25 injunction "would affect
at most nine of the Ducks' 17 remaining televised regular
season games" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 2/13).
VARIETY'S TAKE: VARIETY's Ray Richmond writes on FSW
and FSW2 under the header, "Fox Sports Makes Few Fans."
Continental Cablevision VP/Marketing Jim Matusoff: "Imagine
if NBC decided to put some of its best shows on, say, NBC2,
and then they charged cable operators a lot of money to
carry it. That gives you some idea of what we're up against
right now." Fox Sports Dir of Media Relations Vince
Wladika: "Look at what ESPN did with the NHL. It moved most
of its games to ESPN2. All we're doing is giving Los
Angeles a second regional sports channel just like New York
already has. Is that so wrong?" (VARIETY, 2/10 issue).
