Fox Sports West (FSW) will air Games One and Two of the
Mighty Ducks' playoff series against the Coyotes on both FSW
and Fox Sports West 2 (FSW2), "rather than face another
round in court -- plus a public-relations nightmare,"
according to Larry Stewart of the L.A. TIMES. Originally,
the games were to be shown only on FSW2, but Monday the
Ducks gave ESPN permission to lift local blackouts of their
telecast, a move FSW said the team had "no legal basis for
doing." The league now says the local ESPN blackouts "would
be back in effect" for the two games (L.A. TIMES, 4/16).
Although some "viewed the Fox concession as a cave in," a
Fox source said the network regards the move as a "victory
in blocking ESPN and Disney from getting what they wanted in
lifting the blackout." ESPN execs could not be reached for
comment (Scott Hettrick, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 4/16).
ROCKETS LAUNCH PPV: Rockets home games not shown
nationally by NBC will be offered locally on PPV, with
suggested retail for the first two rounds set at $19.95 per
game. Home games carried by TBS or TNT will be blacked out
locally, but available via PPV (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/16).
