The Carolina Hurricanes have "rejected an offer" from
Raleigh-based Capitol Broadcasting to televise its games
"because the team declined to turn over control" of its
advertising sales, according to Steve Robblee of the
TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL. Hurricanes VP/Marketing Rick
Francis: "We would lose control of our own destiny by
turning everything over to one particular company." The
JOURNAL's Robblee: "Not having its games on the area's
dominant broadcast outlet is a blow to the Hurricanes." The
team "appears likely to cut a deal" with RSNs HTS or Fox
SportsSouth (TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/14).
ON THE RADIO: The White Sox will debut the Traveler's
Information Radio Station today. The low-watt radio station
will provide ballpark travel updates all day (White
Sox)....In St. Paul, Charley Walters wrote, "Look for the
Chancellor company that owns KFAN-AM to bid against WCCO-AM
for Twins radio rights, which are expected to cost at least"
$2.5M annually on a five-year deal beginning next season
(ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 7/13).
RECORD RATING: Sunday's Rangers-Mariners game, which
featured a single-game strikeout record-setting performance,
earned Fox Sports Southwest a 5.4 household rating, which
set a record for a pro event on FSSW since the net began
tracking ratings in '94. The telecast was seen by 100,000
households, the highest ever for a FSSW program (FSSW).
