Media Notes

In Dallas, Barry Horn reported FS Southwest Rangers pre- and postgame host John Rhadigan is the "way-out-in-frontrunner" to serve as Rangers TV announcer. Rhadigan, who has been at FS Southwest since June '01, "has no baseball play-by-play experience." But the Rangers "like his name recognition." Rhadigan would replace Josh Lewin (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/15).

LOGGING ON: ESPN Digital Media logged its most trafficked year to date in '10. ESPN.com was up 17% in average monthly unique visitors and up 38% in total minutes from '09. The site also led the sports category in average minute audience with 77,000 and claimed a category share of 29% in December. It also led the category in average minute audience and category share of audience in 10 out of 12 months last year. Meanwhile, ESPN3.com's average monthly unique viewers and total hours consumed were up 150% and 180%, respectively, last year (ESPN).

PLAYING IT DOWN: GOLF WORLD's Bill Fields writes PGA Tour golfers being miked would "absolutely" enhance broadcasts, but "far from the degree supporters imagine." Fields: "Even in today's must-know-everything culture, if pro golf's TV fortunes rise or fall on whether someone is miked up, that is a sign of greater problems." Instead of miking up players, TV "could better utilize the mics already on course, and the tour should mandate its players to do interviews during a round" (GOLF WORLD MONDAY, 1/17 issue).

MEDIA NOTES: Time Warner Cable and Sinclair Broadcasting Group "reached an agreement in principle Saturday to end their dispute over retransmission fees." TWC said that it "expects to finalize the deal within a week." The dispute "included some stations operated by" Bright House Networks, and "involved 33 stations in 21 markets, impacting 4 million to 5.5 million subscribers" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 1/16)....NESN averaged a 4.2 local rating in the Boston market for last Thursday's Flyers-Bruins game, marking its highest-rated Bruins game this season (NESN).