Walt Disney Co.'s Angels "want out of their cable
contract" with News. Corp's Fox Sports West, and filed a
lawsuit Tuesday in Orange County, CA, Superior Court,
according to Janet Wilson of the L.A. TIMES. The suit
"claims Fox, formerly Prime Ticket Networks, is underpaying"
the Angels for televising the team's games. The complaint
charges "breach of contract," and the Angels "allege Fox
Sports West is paying far more for broadcasts of Dodger
games and is giving more favorable conditions" to the
Dodgers. The suit also states that the Angels "have
unfairly been denied information about the Fox-Dodgers
contract." The Angels "want their contract canceled or
hefty reparations," and state they "are guaranteed higher
fees under a clause in their 1993 contract if Fox ... signed
a more lucrative contract with another team." Wilson: "It
is the fourth lawsuit between the two media giants involving
southern California sports teams, fueling speculation that
Disney does not want Murdoch to profit from telecasting
games of Disney owned teams" (L.A. TIMES, 6/25).
