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Cleveland Indians exit broadcast world, sell SportsTime Ohio to Fox Sports

Cleveland IndiansAnother team exits the cable-television world, as the Cleveland Indians have sold SportsTime Ohio to Fox Sports and entered into a 10-year broadcasting agreement with Fox Sports Ohio.

Aside from some individual owners, Fox Sports has become the most powerful player in the business of baseball, and the addition of the Cleveland Indians to the fold — while not a major move in and of itself — will certainly cement that status, with the majority of MLB teams entered into broadcast agreements with Fox. The deal with the Indians calls for the purchase of SportsTime Ohio for $230 million and a new $400-million, 10-year broadcast agreement to shift games to Fox Sports Ohio. SportsTime Ohio apparently won’t go away: Fox will maintain two networks because of potential scheduling conflicts. Besides the Indians, Fox Sports Ohio holds the rights to Columbus Blue Jackets hockey, Columbus Crew MLS soccer, Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Cavaliers games, as well as college basketball. SportsTime Ohio never really took off past serving as the home to Indians baseball.

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