MLB Commissioner BUD SELIG last night spoke of the technological changes his league has gone through during the 22 years he has held his position as he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement award at Broadcasting & Cable's annual HOF dinner in N.Y. Joined by Commissioner-elect ROB MANFRED and MLB Exec VP/Baseball Operations JOE TORRE, Selig hailed MLBAM as "one of the great success stories." Introduced by NBC's BOB COSTAS, Selig said, "I'm proud of the way that we have changed. All the way to our own network, MLB.com, all the clubs' local rights and national rights. I think we've made all of the adjustments that we should have made." He noted that when he became commissioner in '92, half the games were televised and baseball had an attendance of 55 million. Today, every game is televised and MLB posted an attendance of nearly 74 million fans this season. He said, "That represents the passion of our fans." Other honorees at the gala dinner at the Waldorf Astoria hotel last night included NBC Sports Group Chair MARK LAZARUS, who had several NBC execs, including NBC Sports Group President JON LITNER, NBC Sports Group Programming President JON MILLER, Chief Revenue Officer RAY WARREN and Exec Producer SAM FLOOD, at his table. In introducing Lazarus, Costas remarked on NBC's deal to carry the Olympics through '32, and said, "At that point, I will be 80 and pink eye will be the least of my concerns."
BRATCHES HEADS UP OTHER INDUCTEES: ESPN Exec VP/Sales & Marketing SEAN BRATCHES also was honored. Along with his wife and two of his four sons, Bratches was joined by Time Warner Cable's Chief Video & Content Officer MELINDA WITMER and NBA President of Global Distribution BILL KOENIG. ESPN execs in attendance included Managing Dir of ESPN Int'l RUSSELL WOLFF, President of Global Customer Marketing & Sales ED ERHARDT and Exec VP/Affiliate Sales & Marketing DAVID PRESCHLACK. "The best thing about my career is the people I've met along the way," Bratches said. Other honorees included Horizon Media President, CEO & Founder BILL KOENIGSBEGR, "GMA" anchor ROBIN ROBERTS, CBS Chief Research Officer DAVID POLTRACK, Viacom Entertainment President DOUG HERZOG, Mediacom Exec VP/Programming & Human Resources ITALIA COMMISSO WEINARD, Grupo Televisa Chair EMILIO AZCARRAGA, Nexstar President PERRY SOOK and two TV shows -- "Family Feud" and "Mad Men." Costas hosted with Fox News' MEGYN KELLY. The sportscaster drew one of the loudest laughs of the night when he quipped Fox News "has misrepresented my views so much that I am now polling at 53% on the Iowa Democratic Caucus."
