The Stars on Friday announced a new 11-year TV rights agreement with FS Southwest. The RSN will facilitate the broadcast of all regionally televised Stars regular-season games, as well as select first-round games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Stars President & CEO Jim Lites said that the team is looking for the new deal to help further the spread of the fan base. Lites: “If you look at where our games will be broadcast, we touch into five different NBA markets.” He said he is hoping to see expansion in areas such as New Orleans and Tulsa, among other markets. FS Southwest noted that it, along with its sister RSNs, reach over 10 million homes in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Lites said, “It’s a point of pride that we have this footprint we cover.” He noted that while the Stars have been broadcast on FS Southwest for more than 20 years, previous deals typically ran only two or three years. While he declined to comment on financial terms of the deal, he noted that Fox Sports was making a “significant” commitment and the deal was “in the team’s interest” (Ian Thomas, Staff Writer). In Dallas, Barry Horn reported play-by-play announcer Ralph Strangis and analyst Daryl Reaugh will not be affected by the new deal. The agreement comes after the start of the '14-15 season, but Lites said, "In our minds its been done for some time." He stated, "You have to get league approval. We had a deal six months ago on the important details. The league is much more careful now with digital. Who owns what? Is it us or Fox? Then there is 'what happens if?' with technology advances. Games might be consumed in ways we can’t anticipate. The lawyers had to look at everything" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/18).
CAPITAL GAINS: In this week's SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, John Ourand cites sources as saying that even though the Capitals’ local TV rights deal with CSN Mid-Atlantic runs for three more seasons, team Owner Ted Leonsis "already has started negotiations about an extension." Leonsis’ Monumental Sports & Entertainment has hired Allen & Co.’s Steve Greenberg "to negotiate with the RSN’s executive team led by NBC Sports Group President Jon Litner." It "seems likely that Leonsis is looking to sync the Caps’ deal with the Wizards’ deal," which runs through the '20-21 season. The Capitals’ current deal runs through the '16-17 season. Sources said that the Capitals "currently make around" $13M per year from CSN Mid-Atlantic, and the Wizards "pull down around" $17M (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 10/20 issue).
