Media Notes

Stern Hoping To Put NBA TV On More Basic Cable Tiers

While NBA TV is mainly available only on premium cable and satellite tiers, NBA Commissioner David Stern said that the league “has plans to be more aggressive in securing commitments to carry it on basic tiers available to all customers.” MLB earlier this year struck an exclusive deal with DirecTV for its Extra Innings package and to-be-developed Baseball Channel that was later expanded to include cable carriers, and Stern said that the NBA “might take similar steps.” Stern: “We have a few plans working that will increase its penetration to market it to the cable industry, in conjunction with NBA League Pass, not unlike what baseball did to secure the better penetration of [the Baseball Channel]” (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 4/27).

HOST SUES STATION: In Houston, David Barron reports KILT-AM host John Granato is suing the station, claiming it “violated his contract by failing to pay him money for appearances and new advertising clients he acquired for the station.” Granato has asked a judge to void the deal and a six-month non-compete clause (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/27).

AMERICA’S HORSE: NBC will air “Barbaro: A Nation’s Horse” at 5:00pm ET Sunday, and in L.A., Larry Stewart reports HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg last fall signed an exclusive deal with Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who owned Barbaro, that “prohibited them from doing interviews for any other full-length documentaries.” However, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics Chair Dick Ebersol and Greenburg “worked out a deal” in which NBC was able to interview the Jacksons and HBO was allowed to use footage of last year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. HBO’s “Barbaro” will air June 6, the week of the Belmont Stakes (L.A. TIMES, 4/27).