The Diamondbacks and Phoenix's NHL franchise have signed
separate 10-year cable deals with Fox-Liberty Sports for cable
telecasts of their games, according to the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Don
Ketchem reports Jerry Colangelo, Managing General Partner of the
D'Backs and a key player in the NHL team's relocation from
Winnipeg, said the packages would put both teams :in the top five
in their respective sports in cable-generated revenue." Terms
call for 60 Diamondbacks games to be televised on the Prime
Network during the '98 season. The NHL club will have as many as
40 of their games on Prime. The Diamondbacks have already agreed
to a deal with Phoenix station KTVK to televise around 75 games
over-the-air. Shawn Hunter, Exec VP/COO for the NHL team, said
the team and sport will be introduced this summer with several
programs on Prime (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/22). Liberty Sports plans
on opening an office in Phoenix surrounding the venture. In
addition, Liberty's Prime Network will be the title sponsor of
the Diamondbacks' baseball museum inside Bank One Ballpark (GOULD
MEDIA, 3/22).
