The CBC signed a one-year deal with the Blue Jays to
televise 35 games during the '97 season, according to Robert
MacLeod of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL. The deal ends a five-
year relationship between the team and Baton Broadcasting,
whose TV contract expired at the end of last season. The
value of the contact was not disclosed. CBC TV Sports head
Alan Clark said a holdup in the deal was that CBC thought
the asking price by Jays President Paul Beeston, "rumoured
to be about $230,000 a game," was "exceedingly high" for a
teams with attendance figures decreasing "dramatically" over
past seasons. Earlier this month, the Jays announced a
five-year, 400-game cable deal with TSN for "slightly more"
than $100,000 a game (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 3/16).
REAX: The TORONTO STAR's Dave Perkins notes that "not
getting the TV deal they [Blue Jays] wanted has put a clamp
on additional spending" (TORONTO STAR, 3/16). The TORONTO
SUN's Rob Longley: "With just 115 Blue Jays games airing
this year (80 on TSN, 35 on CBC), it's conceivable
subscribers to superstations in Chicago and Atlanta will see
more of the Cubs and Braves in this market than the home
team" (TORONTO SUN, 3/17). The SUN's Steve Simmons: "Maybe
signing Roger Clemens wasn't the great economic nirvana the
Blue Jays believed it to be" (TORONTO SUN, 3/16).
