MLB formally announced a new six-year, $2.5B TV
contract with Fox yesterday, which will "double the income
each team currently receives from the national package,"
according to USA TODAY's Hal Bodley. Fox' deal averages
about $417M per season, and combined with ESPN's regular
season deal worth $152M per year, MLB's national TV revenue
will now average nearly $570M. Except for the expansion
Devil Rays and D'Backs, each team will receive about $14.4M
this year, and payments "will escalate to about" $30M for
each team. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig: "I couldn't be more
pleased with this deal. ... We've been negotiating for five
months, and the more we talked about it, having one partner
was in our best interest." Bodley adds that if there is a
strike or lockout following the 2001 season, owners "still
are guaranteed their money" (USA TODAY, 9/28). MLBPA Exec
Dir Donald Fehr: "The networks have always been willing to
finance a work stoppage on the owners behalf. That's not
anything new" (AP, 9/28). Selig said the financial figures
cited by the AP and USA Today "have been reported
inaccurately ... I'm pleased to say" (TIMES-DISPATCH, 9/28).
OH, THE POSSIBILITIES: The AP's Howard Fendrich writes
that Fox can now combine NFL and MLB to "attract advertisers
or use that package as a bargaining tool." NY-based
Schulman/Advanswers President Paul Schulman: "If you make a
deal with Fox and buy enough, you can earn an exclusivity
and not be concerned about what happens at any other
network" (AP, 9/28). Fox Sports TV Group Chair David Hill
tells the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Michele Greppi, "We believe
we will be able to make some nice advertising rates."
Greppi writes that Hill is also "quick to remind people that
it was only six years ago that Fox Sports had zero
credibility." The net now has the NFL, MLB and NASCAR.
Hill and Fox Sports Exec Producer Ed Goren said that it "is
too early to know" where all the divisional playoff games
will air, but they indicated that in addition to
"considering" FSN, fX or Fox Family Channel, they might also
consider dealing some games to an outside TV partner such as
ESPN or TBS. The Bonham Group Dir of Creative Services Don
Hinchey: "Fox has a history of generating a buzz around
every sporting activity it covers, and that can only enhance
[MLB's] appeal to its audience" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 9/28).
MARKET VALUE? Pilson Communications President Neal
Pilson: "It was the best deal baseball could make. Baseball
didn't have the leverage or competitive market going for it.
They asked for a tripling and got less than 50 percent.
This is the market. You get what the market says you're
worth, not what you say you're worth" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/28).
Pilson, on escalating rights fees: "This run is definitely
over. I think you'll see sports get some increases, but
we're looking at a market that is now at least neutral."
But Fox's Goren "wasn't predicting" rights fees dropping any
time soon: "I think you need to see more than one contract
before we can call this a trend" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 9/28).
GOOD FOR FOX, BUT WHAT ABOUT NBC? In Long Beach, Bob
Keisser writes that losing MLB is "a blow to NBC. ... It
leaves the network with just one pro league on its
programming roster, the NBA, and less sports inventory than
its competition" (Long Beach PRESS TELEGRAM, 9/28).
HICKS LIKES DEAL: Rangers Owner Tom Hicks calls the
deal "terrific" and said that it "would help ease the
revenue gap between the big-market and small-market teams."
Hicks: "It's good for competitive balance. That money is
going to Montreal and Kansas City and Tampa Bay. It's also
going to the Yankees, but it's a terrific step in the right
direction" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/28).
