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KCAL To Add Dodgers To
Lineup Beginning In ‘06 |
KCAL-Ind in L.A. has inked an eight-year deal to become the new flagship TV station of the Dodgers beginning with the ’06 season. KCAL receives exclusive local over-the- air broadcast rights. The station has rights deals with the Angels through the ’05 season and the Lakers through 2011-12 (KCAL). DAILY VARIETY’s Michael Schneider reports KCAL will pay over $10M a year for Dodgers rights, a “healthy bump” from the $8M annual contract of previous rights holder KCOP-UPN. Schneider also notes by moving from Fox-owned KCOP to Viacom-owned KCAL, the Dodgers “are breaking more ties” with former owner News Corp. The new deal unites the team’s TV and radio outlets under Viacom, as KFWB-AM is the Dodgers flagship radio station (DAILY VARIETY, 12/1). In L.A., Larry Stewart reports KCOP will continue to air Dodgers games next year during the final season of KCAL’s rights deal with the Angels. KCOP aired 50 regular-season games this year while FSN West 2 aired 94 games, and “that setup will remain about the same under” the new deal with KCAL. The Dodgers’ deal with FSN West 2 runs through the 2013 season (L.A. TIMES, 12/1).
