ESPN will launch ESPN West, an RSN servicing Southern
CA, NV and HI, beginning October '98 in conjunction with the
start of the NHL season. The 24-hour service will include
regional coverage of the Disney-owned Mighty Ducks, starting
with the '98-99 season, and the Angels, beginning with the
'99 season. A full schedule is in development (ESPN).
RSN WAR HEATS UP: In L.A., Larry Stewart writes that
ESPN West will be the first of what ESPN hopes is a number
of RSNs to "combat" Fox Sports Net. ESPN Exec VP/Sales &
Marketing George Bodenheimer said ESPN West will carry 40
Mighty Ducks games next season along with 37 Angels games in
'99 and 50 in 2000. Stewart notes since Fox has the Lakers
and Kings "locked up until 2010," and the Clippers for four
more years, that "doesn't leave much local inventory for
ESPN West." High school and local college sports are
possibilities. While Bodenheimer said no price for the RSN
has been set, he said it would be "fair." The ESPN West
announcement was made at a cable convention in Anaheim, and
a number of cable execs attending "questioned" its creation,
"wondering if there is room for yet another sports channel
and also how ESPN could make it economically feasible." One
source said the Angels and Ducks, combined, are giving up
about $8.5M a year in local TV rights fees "by leaving the
Fox family." Stewart: "Add to that about $3.5 million in
production costs, and ESPN West would need to bring in $11
million a year to break even" (L.A. TIMES, 12/11). In
Anaheim, Scott Hettrick reports that ESPN West will reach
about 4.4 million homes. He adds that the new RSN "presents
a difficult situation for area cable operators, most of
which agreed recently to add" Fox Sports West 2 and its
coverage of the Dodgers and Ducks. The combined cost to
operators for FSW and FSW2 is more than $1.50 per subscriber
per month. In '99, Angels coverage will be shared between
Fox Sports West and ESPN West before shifting exclusively to
ESPN West in 2000. ESPN "plans to fill a large portion" of
the ESPN West schedule with feeds from ESPNEWS (HOLLYWOOD
REPORTER, 12/11). In N.Y., Bruce Orwall writes ESPN "is
late getting into the regional sports business that Fox has
dominated." Orwall adds that forming more ESPN RSNs "will
in many cases mean trying to pry teams away from Fox," but
ESPN "is confident that it can put together programming
packages that are more attractive than its competitors"
(Bruce Orwall, WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/11).
