GaryMrMets
01-23-2006, 12:42 AM
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/384720p-326532c.html
Out Fox?
MLB on brink of shutting out network
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Is Major League Baseball on the verge of ending its decade-long relationship with Fox Sports?
The winds seem to be blowing in that direction. A divorce could be on the horizon, leaving Fox with the NFL, NASCAR and the Bowl Championship Series as its primary sports packages.
This would also put the futures of Fox's No. 1 baseball broadcast team - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver - very much up in the air.
Fox's exclusive negotiating period with MLB is about to expire - probably in the next two weeks - and the two sides are far apart in terms of the only thing that counts - money.
Fox's current six-year deal with Bud Selig & Co., worth $2.5 billion, ends following the 2006 season. The Foxies began televising baseball in 1996 and, as in past negotiations, MLB is looking for more dough than Fox is currently willing to offer.
So, when Fox's exclusive negotiating period runs out without a deal, MLB will become a TV free agent. This probably was Selig's plan all along. Selig and the owners want to test the waters and see what their national TV rights are worth on an open market.
Fox, according to baseball sources, does have the right to match any "final" offer MLB receives from another network.
A baseball source said NBC has expressed an interest in the package. It is likely Peacock suits have their eyes set on MLB's postseason inventory. That makes sense. NBC's prime-time ratings are down. What better way to add some ratings consistency - and a promotional platform for entertainment programming - than picking up the World Series?
That possibility should give the Foxies reason to pause and think twice before blowing off baseball. Why allow NBC to use baseball to dig its way out of the prime-time ratings grave?
There could be another option for Selig. MLB, as it has done in the past, could go to a split network format with Fox and NBC sharing the rights. Under this plan, the two networks would each air an LCS and rotate World Series coverage each year.
Don't discount the possibility of Disney-owned ESPN, MLB's national cable TV partner, getting into the act. ESPN could pay top dollar for the right to air the LCS, then put the World Series on ABC-TV, also a Disney property. Because of its dual revenue streams (advertising revenue and licensing fees from cable operators), ESPN has become a virtual pot of gold for the NFL, NBA and MLB.
If Fox loses baseball McCarver would have to move on. Baseball is his sport. Buck would have an option. He is Fox's No. 1 NFL play-by-play voice. The network has just embarked on an eight-year extension of its NFL deal.
Still, if working the World Series is a priority for Buck, would he bolt the Foxies' Hollywood bunker to follow baseball to another network? If baseball went to NBC, Bob (Rapping Roberto) Costas, the current face of NBC Sports, would likely want to do World Series play-by-play. That fact in itself could keep Buck at Fox.
Even if baseball leaves.
This regime will not be televised
If initial impressions and (the new sports media buzz word) "pedigree," offer any clues, Eric Mangini won't be wandering down the same media path taken by the loquacious Herman Edwards.
This is not about the amount of time Mangini will be spending with Jets beat writers. No, this has everything to do with TV, radio and marketing opportunities driven to the coach by Jets brass - like Edwards' weekly show "2-4/7," a Jets product that Ch. 2 aired every Sunday during the season. Mangini has yet to be asked by Jets suits if he will continue this show. "2-4/7" had cameras following Edwards during the week, giving fans an inside look at the Jets and taking them places that were off limits to the media.
Considering Mangini was a professor at Belichick University, it's highly unlikely he will be inclined to let a camera tail him. And yet the TV equation has changed drastically for the Jets.
The team has a new deal with SportsNet New York, the regional network scheduled to debut on March 16. Although SNY plans to air all of Mangini's press conferences, the network probably would also like the coach to have a more visible presence. Contractually, sources said, the Jets are required to provide SNY with only a high-ranking Jets official.
Does this mean SNY viewers can look forward to The Terry Bradway Show? Or how about an evening with Jay (Double) Cross?
Cleaning up this Mess
No one should be surprised when crass commercialism rears its head in sports.
Still, after that emotional tribute to Mark Messier at the Garden, those commercials (played over and over and over again) on MSG hawking Messier memorabilia and his "Leadership Camp" are cheesy.
Yep, what's the purpose of holding one of those special "nights" if you can't make a few million bucks off it?
Miller drills another one
Reggie Miller was a Knicks killer when he played.
Nothing has changed now that he's behind a microphone.
Miller showed absolutely no mercy, dumping all over the Knicks during the Pistons' 105-79 rout Thursday night on TNT.
With 4:47 left in the third quarter, and the Pistons up 64-43, Marv Albert said the game had reached the point where Detroit was "toying" with the Knicks."
"We reached it? How about when (Detroit) got off the bus?" Miller said.
Later in the same quarter, the discussion turned (remember these guys had a lot of time to fill so they had to use their imaginations) to whether the Knicks could make the playoffs.
"Are (the late) Dave DeBusschere, Clyde Frazier and Patrick Ewing coming back?" Miller asked. "Then, they might have a shot."
On the radio side, John Andariese returned to the MSG Radio Network booth after recuperating from eye surgery.
Sadly, on this night, the Knicks were not even a sight for sore eyes.
A Bill of goods
ESPN-1050's Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic served up a Tuesday Twinkie-Munch buffet to Colts prez Bill Polian. They never even asked him to provide a take on why Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy gag when the money is on the line.
A day later, WFAN's Chris (Mad Dog) Russo and Mike Francesa took the gloves off with Polian (Dog really turned up the heat) causing him to wave a flag of surrender before bolting the interview. This session was not only revealing (it showed Polian is in denial), but entertaining as well.
I would suggest Greenberg and Golic check it out, but preparing those song parodies must be a very time-consuming task for them.
Dude of the Week: Terry Bradshaw
Yes, last Sunday on Fox, he bashed Peyton Manning for pointing fingers, but his reaction to being dumped on by Archie Manning is what earns Bradshaw this most prestigious award. Bradshaw's vibe was clear: I ain't no phony. "I didn't preface (the Manning rip) by softening it by going, 'I love Peyton, love the family, but...'" Bradshaw said. Hoooray! How many times have you heard someone say, or write, I really like so and so, but...." Please. Those who drop the bouquet before the hammer have a sugar problem. With Manning, Bradshaw kept the candy in his pocket.
Dweeb of the Week: Mike Vanderjagt
His 46-yard miss sent Colts fans into a deep abyss. So, what better way to reach out to them then, five days after the loss to Pittsburgh, going on the 'Late Show with David Letterman' to spoof one of the worst moments in Colts history. Guess Vanderjagt thought this was the best way to lift those dark clouds hovering over the Colts' faithful. I'm sure these fans were thrilled seeing Vanderjagt kicking field goals on Broadway. Got to wonder what was going through his mind when he decided to go on Letterman. Then again, considering what went down in Indy, the kicker might be best served by pursuing a career in standup comedy.
Double Talk
What Larry Brown said: "It (Pistons-Knicks) was like the JV versus the varsity. I think they could have beaten us by 50."
What Larry Brown meant to say: "I left that team for this? By the end of the season I will be running into the stands looking for the nearest exit."
Originally published on January 22, 2006
Out Fox?
MLB on brink of shutting out network
http://www.nydailynews.com/images/columnists/raissman_b.jpg
http://www.nydailynews.com/images/editors/header_tuningin.gif
Is Major League Baseball on the verge of ending its decade-long relationship with Fox Sports?
The winds seem to be blowing in that direction. A divorce could be on the horizon, leaving Fox with the NFL, NASCAR and the Bowl Championship Series as its primary sports packages.
This would also put the futures of Fox's No. 1 baseball broadcast team - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver - very much up in the air.
Fox's exclusive negotiating period with MLB is about to expire - probably in the next two weeks - and the two sides are far apart in terms of the only thing that counts - money.
Fox's current six-year deal with Bud Selig & Co., worth $2.5 billion, ends following the 2006 season. The Foxies began televising baseball in 1996 and, as in past negotiations, MLB is looking for more dough than Fox is currently willing to offer.
So, when Fox's exclusive negotiating period runs out without a deal, MLB will become a TV free agent. This probably was Selig's plan all along. Selig and the owners want to test the waters and see what their national TV rights are worth on an open market.
Fox, according to baseball sources, does have the right to match any "final" offer MLB receives from another network.
A baseball source said NBC has expressed an interest in the package. It is likely Peacock suits have their eyes set on MLB's postseason inventory. That makes sense. NBC's prime-time ratings are down. What better way to add some ratings consistency - and a promotional platform for entertainment programming - than picking up the World Series?
That possibility should give the Foxies reason to pause and think twice before blowing off baseball. Why allow NBC to use baseball to dig its way out of the prime-time ratings grave?
There could be another option for Selig. MLB, as it has done in the past, could go to a split network format with Fox and NBC sharing the rights. Under this plan, the two networks would each air an LCS and rotate World Series coverage each year.
Don't discount the possibility of Disney-owned ESPN, MLB's national cable TV partner, getting into the act. ESPN could pay top dollar for the right to air the LCS, then put the World Series on ABC-TV, also a Disney property. Because of its dual revenue streams (advertising revenue and licensing fees from cable operators), ESPN has become a virtual pot of gold for the NFL, NBA and MLB.
If Fox loses baseball McCarver would have to move on. Baseball is his sport. Buck would have an option. He is Fox's No. 1 NFL play-by-play voice. The network has just embarked on an eight-year extension of its NFL deal.
Still, if working the World Series is a priority for Buck, would he bolt the Foxies' Hollywood bunker to follow baseball to another network? If baseball went to NBC, Bob (Rapping Roberto) Costas, the current face of NBC Sports, would likely want to do World Series play-by-play. That fact in itself could keep Buck at Fox.
Even if baseball leaves.
This regime will not be televised
If initial impressions and (the new sports media buzz word) "pedigree," offer any clues, Eric Mangini won't be wandering down the same media path taken by the loquacious Herman Edwards.
This is not about the amount of time Mangini will be spending with Jets beat writers. No, this has everything to do with TV, radio and marketing opportunities driven to the coach by Jets brass - like Edwards' weekly show "2-4/7," a Jets product that Ch. 2 aired every Sunday during the season. Mangini has yet to be asked by Jets suits if he will continue this show. "2-4/7" had cameras following Edwards during the week, giving fans an inside look at the Jets and taking them places that were off limits to the media.
Considering Mangini was a professor at Belichick University, it's highly unlikely he will be inclined to let a camera tail him. And yet the TV equation has changed drastically for the Jets.
The team has a new deal with SportsNet New York, the regional network scheduled to debut on March 16. Although SNY plans to air all of Mangini's press conferences, the network probably would also like the coach to have a more visible presence. Contractually, sources said, the Jets are required to provide SNY with only a high-ranking Jets official.
Does this mean SNY viewers can look forward to The Terry Bradway Show? Or how about an evening with Jay (Double) Cross?
Cleaning up this Mess
No one should be surprised when crass commercialism rears its head in sports.
Still, after that emotional tribute to Mark Messier at the Garden, those commercials (played over and over and over again) on MSG hawking Messier memorabilia and his "Leadership Camp" are cheesy.
Yep, what's the purpose of holding one of those special "nights" if you can't make a few million bucks off it?
Miller drills another one
Reggie Miller was a Knicks killer when he played.
Nothing has changed now that he's behind a microphone.
Miller showed absolutely no mercy, dumping all over the Knicks during the Pistons' 105-79 rout Thursday night on TNT.
With 4:47 left in the third quarter, and the Pistons up 64-43, Marv Albert said the game had reached the point where Detroit was "toying" with the Knicks."
"We reached it? How about when (Detroit) got off the bus?" Miller said.
Later in the same quarter, the discussion turned (remember these guys had a lot of time to fill so they had to use their imaginations) to whether the Knicks could make the playoffs.
"Are (the late) Dave DeBusschere, Clyde Frazier and Patrick Ewing coming back?" Miller asked. "Then, they might have a shot."
On the radio side, John Andariese returned to the MSG Radio Network booth after recuperating from eye surgery.
Sadly, on this night, the Knicks were not even a sight for sore eyes.
A Bill of goods
ESPN-1050's Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic served up a Tuesday Twinkie-Munch buffet to Colts prez Bill Polian. They never even asked him to provide a take on why Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy gag when the money is on the line.
A day later, WFAN's Chris (Mad Dog) Russo and Mike Francesa took the gloves off with Polian (Dog really turned up the heat) causing him to wave a flag of surrender before bolting the interview. This session was not only revealing (it showed Polian is in denial), but entertaining as well.
I would suggest Greenberg and Golic check it out, but preparing those song parodies must be a very time-consuming task for them.
Dude of the Week: Terry Bradshaw
Yes, last Sunday on Fox, he bashed Peyton Manning for pointing fingers, but his reaction to being dumped on by Archie Manning is what earns Bradshaw this most prestigious award. Bradshaw's vibe was clear: I ain't no phony. "I didn't preface (the Manning rip) by softening it by going, 'I love Peyton, love the family, but...'" Bradshaw said. Hoooray! How many times have you heard someone say, or write, I really like so and so, but...." Please. Those who drop the bouquet before the hammer have a sugar problem. With Manning, Bradshaw kept the candy in his pocket.
Dweeb of the Week: Mike Vanderjagt
His 46-yard miss sent Colts fans into a deep abyss. So, what better way to reach out to them then, five days after the loss to Pittsburgh, going on the 'Late Show with David Letterman' to spoof one of the worst moments in Colts history. Guess Vanderjagt thought this was the best way to lift those dark clouds hovering over the Colts' faithful. I'm sure these fans were thrilled seeing Vanderjagt kicking field goals on Broadway. Got to wonder what was going through his mind when he decided to go on Letterman. Then again, considering what went down in Indy, the kicker might be best served by pursuing a career in standup comedy.
Double Talk
What Larry Brown said: "It (Pistons-Knicks) was like the JV versus the varsity. I think they could have beaten us by 50."
What Larry Brown meant to say: "I left that team for this? By the end of the season I will be running into the stands looking for the nearest exit."
Originally published on January 22, 2006