Orange County Superior Court Judge Ronald Kline ruled
that Fox Sports West 2 (FSW2) will remain the exclusive
cable carrier of Mighty Ducks games. The court denied a
preliminary injunction request by the Ducks to put the games
on Fox Sports West for the remainder of the season. In his
ruling, Kline noted, "Prime (FSW/FSW2) is not trying to deny
anyone the right to view the games." He also added that the
"potential" for FSW2 and Mighty Ducks games to be seen by up
up to 4 million viewers "is still available. ... Both Prime
and Mighty Ducks want broad exposure" (Fox). Kline went on
to say, "Simply put, the better arguments are with Prime.
While the emotional arguments are with Mighty Ducks, they do
not win the day." The judge set an August 4 trial date
"that could impact" Ducks games for next season and will
also deal with the length of the Ducks/Fox contract which is
also being contended (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 2/27).
REAX: Disney spokesperson John Dreyer said that the
company was "disappointed" in the decision, adding, "This
deprives the Ducks fans the chance of seeing games during a
critical playoff hunt." In Orange County, Barbara Kingsley
notes the Ducks "will remain mighty inaccessible to Orange
County cable viewers" after the decision, but that the
outcome "is only the beginning of the legal wrangling
between Fox and Disney" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 2/27).
This is the second round the Ducks have lost, as a February
12 decision denied a request for a temporary restraining
order to prevent the games from going to FSW2. FSW GM Kitty
Cohen said that the ruling was important to "establish the
credibility of FSW2, particularly with the impending Dodgers
games" being shown on FSW2 (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 2/27).
WAR, WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? The "titanic struggle between
Fox, Disney and the cable companies over sports programming
is ruining relationships between Fox and the Ducks and
souring sports fans," according to Barbara Kingsley of the
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. Fox execs "think they're winning so
far," even though FSW2 is going to "only a small number of
L.A. area subscribers." Fox was "ecstatic" with yesterday's
decision and one Time-Warner cable operator said, with the
decision, FSW is now in "the catbird seat" as far as
offering FSW2 to cable companies who had "balked" at the
$.75 per-customer, per month price tag. Meanwhile FSW2 "is
scrambling to compensate advertisers who are reaching
300,000 viewers instead of the 4.2 million on Fox Sports
West (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 2/27).
