Media Notes
BLOOMBERG NEWS' David Glovin reported DirecTV Latin America yesterday filed a lawsuit in N.Y. Federal Court accusing Argentine businessman Carlos Avila of "breaching a 2006 joint-venture contract to create a Spanish-language golf channel in the region." DirecTV claimed that Avila "secretly transferred his interest to a Uruguayan company controlled" by senior execs who at the time were employed at DirecTV's Argentina unit. The suit also accuses Avila and the two execs of taking "vast sums from DirecTV and its subsidiary under false pretenses." DirecTV, which said that it expended $5.5M in capital and loans, is "seeking damages and the full interest in the sports channel" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/29).
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MacMullan Taking Buyout
Offer From Boston Globe |
BOSTON BUYOUT: Boston Globe sportswriters Jackie MacMullan and Peter May are officially among 23 newsroom workers "who are leaving the paper as a part of a voluntary buyout offer." Senior Assistant Sports Editor Reid Laymance, Assistant Sports Editor Ken Fratus and gossip columnist Carol Beggy also are taking the buyout (BOSTON HERALD, 4/30).
Mistaken Identity: Early editions of today’s USA Today mistakenly contained a picture of Manchester United MF Cristiano Ronaldo accompanying a story about AC Milan F Ronaldo’s alleged tryst with a transvestite. The error was corrected in later editions (THE DAILY).
CHI-TOWN REVIEWS: In Chicago, John Jackson reviewed the broadcast teams covering the Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks, and ranked the Cubs TV team, led by play-by-play announcer Len Kasper, as the best. Jackson also placed the Bulls radio team, with play-by-play man Neil Funk, in the “best and brightest” category. The White Sox' and Bulls' cable TV teams “could be better,” and the “jury’s still out” on the White Sox' and Blackhawks' radio crews (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 4/29).
NOTES: In Portland, Kerry Eggers cites sources saying that MLB analyst Harold Reynolds' wrongful termination settlement with ESPN was worth seven figures (PORTLAND TRIBUNE, 4/29)....The Astros and FSN Houston this season will televise 15 Astros games in Spanish, to be carried separately from FSN Houston’s regular Astros broadcasts. The first Spanish-language telecast is scheduled for the May 7 Nationals-Astros game (FSN Houston)....MTV will broadcast in the Beijing Olympic Village beginning June 24. MTV Networks China was "granted landing rights before and during" the Games from BOCOG (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 4/30)....Boston's WBZ-NBC sportscaster Bob Lobel last night delivered his final sportscast after 29 years with the station (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/30).
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