Media Notes
The CP's Cassandra Szklarski reported a "dispute over costs seems to be hampering efforts by CBC and CTV to reach a deal over French-language coverage" of the '10 Vancouver Olympics. The CTV-Rogers Olympic broadcasting consortium is "trying to ensure francophone coverage for the entire country" of Canada. CBC President & CEO Hubert Lacroix Thursday said that "serious obstacles stand in the way of a deal, including CTV's insistence that CBC absorb all costs associated with carrying the feeds and that CTV reap all the advertising revenue." Lacroix: "I will tell you right now that we will not allow CBC/Radio-Canada to incur any cost in providing the service CTV purchased so that CTV can deliver a profit to its shareholders while we are laying off employees" (CP, 5/14).
SAME OLD STORY: In Toronto, Chris Zelkovich noted TSN2 next Tuesday will air its first Blue Jays game, and wrote, "I can't believe we're going to wake up May 19 to a world in which TSN2 is still unavailable to Rogers customers. I cannot imagine that the Blue Jays sold five games to TSN2 without asking the cable guys if they were going to be carrying the channel. These are games that would have been on the Rogers promotional channel, so why would the Jays sell them to TSN2 if it deprived Rogers customers from watching?" Sources from both sides said that "they are talking," but Zelkovich noted they have been "talking since August, which makes you wonder what in the world they're talking about" (THESTAR.com, 5/14).
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MASN Receiving Mixed Reactions From
Viewers For Its "Defining Moments" Campaign |
SPLIT DECISION: In DC, Tim Lemke writes DC-area viewers are "divided in their opinions about MASN's 'Defining Moments' campaign, which features fans cheerfully providing accounts of their favorite moments" from the '08 Nationals and Orioles seasons. To some viewers the ads are "clever, cute and downright funny because of the full-fledged enthusiasm of the fans," while others think that they are "irritating, silly and serve only as reminders of how unexciting the Nationals and Orioles have been in the past year." MASN is "asking fans to submit their own 'defining moments' on a special Web site, MyMASN.com," and the net "plans to produce about 20 new spots to air sometime around the All-Star break" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 5/15).
RADIO NOTES: KTRB-AM, the A's flagship station, Monday will transition to an all-day sports talk format with an "initial emphasis on nationally syndicated sports-talk programming." KTRB Program Dir Kevin Barrett said that "more localized programming," featuring both the A's and the Raiders, is "part of the future plan" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/15)....In its first season as the Thunder's flagship radio station, WWLS-FM/AM showed a 27% increase in listeners 12 and older. Citadel Broadcasting Operations Manager Chris Baker, whose company controls WWLS, said that ratings also were up 70% from 6:30-10:30pm CT on weeknights, "when most of the Thunder games were played" (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 5/15).
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