Media Notes

ESPN To Net NHL TV Contract After Next Season?

On Long Island, Alan Hahn wrote “many industry insiders, including some within the NHL, agree the league needs to find a way back onto ESPN, if just one night a week or even just for the playoffs” (NEWSDAY, 5/14). ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose “expects the NHL to return to ESPN when the OLN deal is up after next season.” But OLN studio host Bill Clement, formerly with ESPN, said that it is “unfair to compare OLN to ESPN at this point.” Clement: “We’re still an expansion team. The network got the deal six weeks before the start of the season” (PALM BEACH POST, 5/14).

CARD PLAY: In St. Louis, Dan Caesar reports new MLB Cardinals flagship KTRS-AM, in which the team purchased a controlling interest, ranked 18th in the local winter Arbitron ratings, with 2.5% of the St. Louis audience, down 22% from 3.2% last winter, when it ranked 12th. Former Cardinals flagship KMOX-AM remains No. 1 with 8.4%, compared to 8.5% in ’05. But KTRS Station Manager Craig Unger said, “In January we made a bunch of changes, in February we were tweaking, then in March when we had an outstanding marketing campaign and a lineup in place, and 17 Cardinals spring training games, our ratings were double what we had in January” (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/15).

PREMIER DEAL: Setanta Sports, which is 40% owned by Benchmark Capital, has hired JP Morgan to oversee a fundraiser “that may involve bringing in another strategic investor or a combination of debt and equity financing,” as well as a “possible eventual stock-market floatation.” Setanta recently acquired some TV rights to the English Premier League (LONDON TIMES, 5/14).

PEOPLE & PERSONALITIES: In San Jose, Ann Killion reported ESPN soccer analyst Brandi Chastain, who is eight months pregnant with her first child, will not do any broadcasting work during next month’s World Cup for ESPN/ABC, “but is still open to the idea of continuing” her MLS work after the World Cup (MERCURY NEWS, 5/14)....Nicole Manske of Indianapolis’ WISH-CBS is leaving the net after the Indianapolis 500 to join Speed Channel as a co-anchor of “Speed News,” a weekend news show (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/15).