Guggenheim Partners President and Dodgers co-Owner Todd Boehly said that team execs plan to "televise games in three languages when their new contract with Time Warner takes effect next season." In L.A., Shaikin & Hernandez note the Dodgers "would become the first" MLB team with regular telecasts in three languages. Boehly said that the team would "air telecasts in English, Spanish and Korean as part of the TWC deal." Those telecasts would be "limited to the Dodgers' local television market, as MLB keeps the rights to international broadcasts." The Dodgers have "yet to submit the TWC contract for approval" (L.A. TIMES, 2/26).
SLY LIKE A FOX: News Corp. Deputy COO James Murdoch said of sports rights fees, "Our appetite for sports investments is driven by economic sense ... you have to find the balance." He said of failed negotiations with the Dodgers, "At the prices it went to, we felt it was too rich for us." The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Georg Szalai noted Murdoch "touted the company's recent deal with the YES Network as a smart investment." Noting the "power of live sports, Murdoch cited a big double-digit ratings increase for this year's Daytona 500 race as an example of how things can play out well in sports" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 2/25).
THE FCC WON'T LET ME BE: CABLEFAX DAILY reports the FCC's original finding that Comcast violated program rules "appeared in jeopardy" yesterday morning, with a three-judge panel of the DC District Court of Appeals "hammering the Commission with questions about its '12 ruling that Comcast discriminated against Tennis Channel." The line of questioning yesterday "did not bode well for the FCC" (CABLEFAX DAILY, 2/26).
EASTBOUND & DOWN: CBSSPORTS.com's Jeremy Fowler cited a source as saying that the Big East name "was part of the television negotiations" with NBC, a potential provision of roughly $2M for the network "to market a new name should the league sell the Big East handle to the departing Catholic 7." Big East officials "did not provide clarification on the contractual language" (CBSSPORTS.com, 2/25).
WINDS OF CHANGE: In Chicago, George Castle wrote viewers providing comments via social media is "probably the biggest change" to Comcast SportsNet Chicago's "SportsTalk Live." The show replaced "Chicago Tribune Live," which was "canceled last week after eight years." Without the "mandated two or three Tribune writers making up the majority of the talking-heads panel, CSN Chicago’s producers can now expand the discussion group to other media athletes, athletes, team executives and coaches." Neither host David Kaplan nor CSN Chicago News Dir Kevin Cross "could explain why the Tribune pulled out of the show" (REELCHICAGO.com, 2/25).
