In announcing the Tribune Co.'s $8B deal to take
control of Times Mirror Co., Tribune Co. CEO John Madigan
said, "We think we're creating the premier multimedia
company in America." Madigan will head the combined
company. In DC, Howard Kurtz quotes execs as saying that
the Times Mirror newspapers, magazines and Web sites will
help Tribune Co. "make a greater mark and attract more
national advertising" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/14). Madigan: "It
really creates a powerhouse that can serve advertisers and
consumers in print and television in a variety of media,
including the Internet" ("Business Center," CNBC, 3/13). In
Boston, Mark Jurkowitz writes that "much of the attention"
yesterday focused on the "potentially powerful pairing of
Times Mirror newspapers with Tribune Co. TV stations in the
same markets" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/14). Shares of Times Mirror
were up 37 11/16 yesterday, closing at 85 5/8, while Tribune
Co. was down 6 3/8, closing at 30 13/16 (CNBC, 3/13).
ARE CUBS PART OF THE FAMILY? In Chicago, David Roeder
writes that revenues for Tribune Co.'s Cubs "might be" $120M
annually, while last year, the Tribune Co. and Times Mirror
"collectively took in more than" $6B. Roeder: "That makes
the Cubs a noncore asset, something to be sold off for the
right price." Barrington Research Associates media and
entertainment analyst James Goss said that the Tribune Co.
"could sell the Cubs while retaining" the team's broadcast
rights. But the company "might keep the Cubs as a reminder
that it was a pioneer in realizing that sports franchises
could be important to communications companies." Sportscorp
President Marc Ganis said the Cubs remain valuable to the
Tribune Co.: "They enjoy the benefit of being an owner and
having a seat at the table when the owners negotiate rights
fees and rights terms" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 3/14)
