Eight of the 10 Fox Sports Net O&Os produce separate
pregame shows for "all or most" of their pro teams and
"nearly every regional network plays to its local strengths
with locally produced pregame shows," according to Staci
Kramer of MULTICHANNEL NEWS. For "competitive reasons," Fox
Exec VP Arthur Smith "shied away from discussing" network
plans to push local programming in its 6:00-7:00pm time
slot, but Kramer writes that Smith's "ideal early evening
block" would include national news at 6:00pm, "The Last
Word" at 6:30pm and a local show or pregame at 7:00pm.
Pregame shows can be "good advertising vehicles" and can
"play an important role in building relationships" with the
pro teams. More Kramer: "In some cases, you'll see the
pregame version of a stripped local sports-news show that
runs every weeknight, whether there's a game or not." Smith
gives his idea of a good regional show: "They should be
hyperlocalized to make it work, really tailoring to the home
team." FSN Southwest Exec Producer Mike Anastassiou: "I
don't know if it's a dollar-for-dollar trade versus in-game
rates, but we get healthy rates. It's a neat little revenue
stream for us" (MULTICHANNEL NEWS, 4/26 issue).
