Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer is "weighing a deal" with FS Prime Ticket that would "allow the team to retain streaming rights," according to Josh Kosman of the N.Y. POST. A source said that Prime Ticket, whose RSN rights deal expired in June, "responded to Ballmer’s request to split the TV and streaming rights by recently giving the former Microsoft chief executive a take-it-or-leave-it proposal lasting two years." The source said that there is a "better than 50-50 chance Ballmer will sign the deal." The NBA is "expected to give the deal a thumbs-up." In the agreement, the Clippers would "only be able to offer a streaming service to Prime Ticket customers" (N.Y. POST, 9/14). In L.A., Tom Hoffarth wrote it is not as if Prime Ticket or FS West "can't afford to watch the Clippers jump ship at this stage." But the optics "wouldn’t be all that great" for these RSNs. The Lakers, Dodgers, WNBA Sparks and Galaxy are "already former rights holders while deals with the Angels, Kings and Ducks stay strong." Despite the loss of the Lakers and Dodgers, FS West and Prime Ticket Senior VP & GM Henry Ford said, "We’re not shutting doors or changing our business as much as we are doubling down and investing heavily into our business portfolio and making sure we’re providing the best experiences for the viewers as well as the sponsors and the team.” Hoffarth noted Ford’s hope is to "reduce the number of infomercials that appear in the overnight hours and replace them with original programming." Ford said that many things are "under consideration as well as utilizing more" of the Fox Sports Go app for distribution. One of the things that sets both FS West and Prime Ticket apart from other SoCal RSNs this fall, aside from the NHL and NBA seasons starting, is "live high school football on Friday nights" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 9/11).
