Both the Yankees and Cablevision issued statements
after yesterday's NEWSDAY report that Yankees Owner George
Steinbrenner had held discussions with Cablevision Chair
Charles Dolan about the possibility of buying the team. The
Yankees said that Steinbrenner and Dolan had met and "the
possibility of Cablevision buying into the Yankees was
discussed. But no deal was made. The Steinbrenners will be
with the Yankees for many years to come. 'The Boss' is here
to stay" (Yankees). In a separate statement, Cablevision
CEO Jim Dolan said, "We maintain an active interest in the
future of our relationship with the Yankees and are open to
any ideas that Mr. Steinbrenner may have" (Cablevision).
STILL TALKING? A "well-placed" source told NEWSDAY's
Jon Heyman that a Cablevision "overture to buy the Mets was
rebuffed more than a year ago" before it began talks with
Steinbrenner. But sale talks with the Yankees "remain very
much alive." Club sources "maintained yesterday that there
is serious interest on Steinbrenner's part" in a deal
estimated between $650-700M. One source disputed the phrase
"buying into" in the Yankees statement "and affirmed the
original report from Newsday that Cablevision would become
the principle owner under the terms being discussed."
Steinbrenner, on Newsday's report: "That's somebody popping
off about something they know nothing about. That's so
ridiculous." Moments later though, he added, "I don't rule
anything out." Cablevision declined comment when asked
about its past interest in the Mets (NEWSDAY, 3/20). The
N.Y. DAILY NEWS reports that while Steinbrenner and Dolan
have met about renewing the Yankees TV deal, a source close
to Cablevision said, "Everything's on the table" (N.Y. DAILY
NEWS, 3/20). In N.Y., sources told Cauley & Fatsis that a
"major hurdle" in the sale talks is Steinbrenner's "demand
that he retain management control of the franchise for the
next 15 years" (Cauley & Fatsis, WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/20).
CABLEVISION TIE-IN: CNN's Lou Dobbs reported that
speculation about a Yankees deal "and a recommendation from
Goldman Sachs sent Cablevision stock sharply higher" on
Thursday, gaining $8 to close at $120.25 ("Moneyline," CNN,
3/19). In N.Y., Geraldine Fabrikant writes that the
acquisition of "even a partial stake in the Yankees makes
sense for Cablevision" and would give it "a near lock on the
metropolitan area's professional sports market" (N.Y. TIMES,
3/20). But the DAILY NEWS' Bob Raissman writes that
Cablevision's buying the Yankees "would be bad news for the
fans" as it already owns the Knicks and Rangers and holds TV
rights to the Yankees, Devils, Nets and Islanders. Dolan
has previously talked about creating various team TV cable
packages at a "premium price" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/20). A
NEWSDAY editorial, on a possible Cablevision purchase of the
Yankees: "That kind of domination of sports programming ...
should raise questions" (NEWSDAY, 3/20).