The Padres "have a deal in place with Fox" to replace Channel 4 San Diego as the team's TV partner after this season, according to sources cited by John Maffei of the NORTH COUNTY TIMES. Sources said that an agreement is "so close to being consummated that ... it has been turned over" to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig's office for approval. One report has Fox paying $1.4B over 20 years, which would be $70M per season. Channel 4 was paying about $15M a season and offered about $16-18M on a new deal. The Padres "were asking for something between" $25-30M, so the $70M figure is "hard to comprehend." While the exact dollar figure is unknown, there "seems to be little doubt that the Padres will land on Fox, which is expected to establish a San Diego network, much like Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports Prime Ticket" in L.A. Fox "would have to find a spot on cable providers Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable in San Diego." Meanwhile, the Padres' radio deal with XX Sports Radio 1090 "will expire at the end of this season." The Padres are "believed to be asking for $6 million in rights fees," though the station "currently pays a little more than $5 million and is having a hard time making a profit now" (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 4/29).
