The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Miriam Gottfried notes Disney's Q4 results are due Nov. 7, but "fears" related to the launch of FS1, combined with "concerns about investment in its parks and a relatively low rate of capital return have curbed investor enthusiasm." However, the "moat around crown-jewel ESPN is deeper than it seems." ESPN has recently signed "long-term renewal agreements with eight of its 10 largest distributors." Fox "could cut into advertising sales," but it is mainly "using the new channel to consolidate programming from a handful of networks." Fox will "have to wait to outbid ESPN for big content deals." Most of ESPN's sports rights "are locked in through the next decade." The "only wild card" is the NBA, up for grabs in '16 (WSJ.com, 11/1).
TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY: In Denver, John Henderson notes the impasse between DirecTV and the Pac-12 Networks "is not ending anytime soon." Viewers are either "angry at DirecTV for lowballing the Pac-12 or angry at the Pac-12 for chasing every dollar at the expense of the fans." Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott: "We have a responsibility to our 50 distributors that have signed on for a price and to our universities. We are not going to compromise with those values." DirecTV PR Dir Robert Mercer: "To the majority of customers it's a tax for which they're receiving zero benefits because they don't care about Pac-12 sports" (DENVER POST, 11/1).
UNDER PRESSURE: In L.A., Tom Hoffarth asks why Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee decided he "needed to offer an on-air apology to Tiger Woods based on a column he wrote for Golf.com." Hoffarth: "Sadly, pressure put upon the network by Woods and his agent for something that wasn’t even TV-related obviously led to this bizarre conclusion and took it to a point where Chamblee’s credibility as an outspoken observer of the game has been unfairly compromised" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 11/1).
YOUR SECRET'S SAFE WITH ME: In Milwaukee, Bob Wolfley reviews longtime WTMJ-NBC Packers beat reporter Jessie Garcia's book "My Life with the Green & Gold: Tales from 20 Years of Sportscasting." Wolfley noted Garcia "chose discretion over full disclosure in some cases, and that may disappoint some readers." Garcia said, "I was determined not to make this a tell-all, rake-anyone-through-the-mud book. I believe the story can be told without naming names" (JSONLINE.com, 10/31).
