Media Notes
In N.Y., Bob Raissman cites TV and MLB sources as saying that Bobby Valentine is "on the verge of signing a lucrative multi-year deal with ESPN." Valentine will likely return to the net "working in its 'Baseball Tonight' studio during next month's playoffs." Raissman notes if Valentine comes to ESPN, it "may be under circumstances similar to those" in '03, when the net "put a 'protection' clause" in Valentine's contract. As part of the three-year offer negotiated then with Valentine, ESPN execs "insisted that Valentine pay a monetary penalty if he bolted for a manager's job." Valentine left after one season to manage a Japanese team (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/23).
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Writer Says Henry's NESN Blog
Is Worth Bookmarking |
FROM THE OWNER'S MOUTH: In Massachusetts, Jon Couture wrote he "welcomed the news" Red Sox Owner John Henry "would be blogging on NESN.com, finally giving that site something worth regularly reading." Henry's "previous forays into social media had been not all that unlike" NESN's "Sox Appeal," as they were "sometimes funny, sometimes cringeworthy, sometimes both." In his posts, Henry has "made no qualms about explaining why those previous runs stopped earlier this season," as "Friday's entry, 'Can We Let the David Ortiz Injustice Die?,' summed them right up." Henry in the entry wrote "not one person in the media stood up for [Ortiz] or at least gave him the benefit of the doubt," citing several prominent local writers. Couture wrote Henry "could have had conversations with the city's big editors. ... Instead, we get the owner of the Boston Red Sox bleating in the corner like a wounded animal, indirectly making himself a victim" (New Bedford STANDARD-TIMES, 9/20).
CRACKING DOWN: In London, James Robinson reported MyP2P.eu, a Web site that "illegally streams live television to personal computers and shows English football games each week, could be closed down" by the EPL. The site has shown "a host of recent Premier League matches." The EPL said that 1,800 cases of illegal streaming were "dealt with last season, more than 90% of them successfully." Meanwhile, Robinson noted the EPL is suing YouTube as part of a "long-running legal battle." The EPL accuses YouTube of "illegally showing Premier League games" (London OBSERVER, 9/20).
PAY FOR VIEW: PAID CONTENT's Staci Kramer reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune is "adding some detail" to its online fee-based Vikings content. The content, which will be called "Access Vikings Premium," will "run $5.95 for three months (not quite a whole season) or $19.95 a year" (PAIDCONTENT.org, 9/23).
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