Last night's All-Star Game was the kick-off broadcast for
The Baseball Network's '95 season, but also the beginning of the
end for the joint venture. Speculation remains whether MLB
stands to profit financially from a traditional rights fee
bidding process. In this morning's PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, Mike
Bruton calls MLB's choice to disband TBN "one heckuva gamble."
Bruton interviewed retired CBS Exec Bill McPhail, who feels that
"the risk baseball is taking almost defies logic." Bruton writes
that while CBS and Fox could drive up the rights fees, "it could
also end up disastrous for major-league baseball if CBS bows out
and leaves Fox standing with all the leverage. ...Fox could sit
back and let the league owners sweat and end up signing a deal
for much less than major league baseball can afford." McPhail
says a big contract with Fox may not be the answer to baseball's
financial problems. Bruton: "Fox promotes the bejeebers out of
things, but its prime-time market is slim compared to that of ABC
and NBC. NBC could run a baseball promotion between Seinfeld and
Frasier on Thursday night, and 40 million people would see it"
(PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 7/12). Fox is seeking a deal for five or
six years and would carry a Saturday afternoon regionalized game
of the week plus some prime-time games, "which would result in
about a $1 billion contract," according to USA TODAY's Rudy
Martzke. "The post season would be shared with another network -
- probably CBS," with Turner and ESPN competing for first round
"and possibly LCS games" (USA TODAY, 7/12). ESPN's Chris Berman
proposes that TBN allow ESPN to broadcast '95 first round games
so that fans can see every playoff game (USA TODAY, 7/12).
ROUND TRIPPER RATINGS: Ratings for Monday night's ESPN
replay of the All-Star Home Run Derby drew a 4.9, up from a 4.5
for last year's game. However, the Legends Game drew a 2.0, down
from a 3.6 in '94 (WASHINGTON TIMES, 7/12).
SHOP TALK: In this morning's N.Y. POST, Phil Mushnick
bashes MLB and the MLBPA for allowing QVC to "peddle MLB and
MLBPA-licenced junk and nonsense from the site of the All-Star
Game" (N.Y. POST, 7/12).
RADIO-FREE CITIES: Atlanta, Houston, Detroit and Oakland
all were without local radio for last night's game. None were
able "to find takers for the national radio package" (Prentis
Rogers, ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/12).
