Time Warner Cable is “considering bidding for the rights to broadcast” Dodgers games, according to a source cited by Alex Sherman of BLOOMBERG NEWS. The source said that TWC “wants a long-term deal similar to the contract it signed” with the Lakers this year. The source added that TWC would “likely add the Dodgers games to its regional sports network that will begin broadcasting Lakers games for the 2012-2013 season.” The Dodgers’ TV rights through '13 are currently owned by Fox, which “broadcasts games on its regional sports network.” Fox has said that it “also holds exclusive rights until November 2012 to negotiate a new deal with the team.” Robert Siegfried, a spokesperson for Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt, said that the team will “file an amended media-rights procurement motion with the bankruptcy court ‘in the near future,’ explaining how a sale process would work” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 11/8). Judge Kevin Gross yesterday said that Fox Sports “will get a ‘full and fair’ say as the U.S. Bankruptcy Court decides whether to approve an agreement under which" McCourt would sell the team. In L.A., Bill Shaikin notes the Dodgers “intend to sell the team’s television rights separately from the team, a proposal to which Fox strenuously objects.” Fox attorney Paul Laurin in a court hearing yesterday “expressed concern over reports that he said characterized the settlement between McCourt and MLB as ‘a foregone conclusion.’” The judge “has reviewed the deal” and said that a “final settlement has yet to be submitted or approved.” A source said that the settlement agreement between McCourt and MLB “calls for one auction, not two, with a decision on the television rights left to the new owner.” Sports media consultant Ed Desser said that the Dodgers “might command 10% to 20% more in a television rights sale ‘if they wait a year or two.’” McCourt’s attorneys have said that the team could “simply honor the two years remaining under the current contract and called it ‘unlikely that Fox Sports can assert any meaningful damages’” (L.A. TIMES, 11/9).
THE SUITORS: The L.A. TIMES’ Shaikin cited a source as saying that White Sox Special Assistant to the Chair Dennis Gilbert “has lined up at least two significant financial backers for his bid to buy the Dodgers.” The backers “are Bruce Karsh and Josh Friedman, two of the more prominent money managers in Southern California” (LATIMES.com, 11/8). Former USOC Chair and MLB Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, “who previously led groups that bid on the Dodgers and Angels,” said that he “would not pursue the Dodgers during the current sale process” (LATIMES.com, 11/8).
SHOWING REMORSE: In L.A., Dylan Hernandez reported McCourt yesterday held a meeting “to address his employees for the first time since he announced he would be selling the storied franchise.” McCourt said that he “never thought his personal life would affect the club as much as it did.” McCourt "was described as remorseful, reportedly telling employees that he wished he had taken better care of what he had.” Former Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda said, “He felt really bad about what has happened.” While fielding questions, McCourt “was asked about the sale process but didn’t provide a timetable for its completion” (LATIMES.com, 11/8).
