Ballpark Digest
The Business of Ballparks and Baseball in Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, Indy, Summer Collegiate and College
We are in the midst of a transformative era when it comes to media consumption, especially when it comes to streaming rights versus traditional and cable networks. And with 25 RSNs on the market, we could see MLB make some bold changes to its broadcast model. (more…)
Major League Baseball and Fox Sports have announced a mutli-year rights agreement, allowing Fox Sports to be home to the league’s marquee events for the next decade. The multi-year, multiplatform rights agreement expands the network’s television, digital and Spanish-language rights. (more…)
Not much attention has been paid to this: a federal lawsuit is challenging Major League Baseball’s management of media rights — and it all hinges on a modern interpretation of MLB’s famed anti-trust exemption. The class-action lawsuit is simple: a group of fans argue that they’re being denied access to games because of MLB’s blackout […]
Another 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 […]
CBS could end up being part of a new package of rightsholders for MLB broadcasts or Fox could use an expanded rights buy to launch a new sports channel, as talks continue. With ESPN doubling its financial commitment to MLB broadcasts, the bar was set for what MLB will expect from other bidders when the […]
With the exclusive-bargaining window closed for its current media partners, Major League Baseball is reportedly fielding an offer from NBC Sports to join the broadcasting fold. Right now there are three MLB broadcast partners: Fox, paying $257.1 million for Saturday, All-Star and World Series games; ESPN, paying $306 million for Sunday night games; and Turner, […]
Faced with reported opposition from other MLB owners, Jeff Moorad has withdrawn his application to buy the San Diego Padres — a move that could prove to be merely temporary. The issue, as reported in a Padres press release, was a desire by the team to expedite the finalizing of the team’s new broadcast deal […]
The Frederick Keys (High Class A; Carolina League) announced that 1450AM The Source will serve as the official flagship station for Keys baseball for a second consecutive season. Along with all 140 regular season games being broadcast live, The Source will air any Keys post-season games as well as a weekly 30-minute program, The Keys […]
In a signal that Frank McCourt’s lawyers are planning on playing hardball during bankruptcy proceedings, they’re asking Major League Baseball to hand over a raft of documents about how Commissioner Bud Selig has treated other teams during troubled financial times — information MLB lawyers will surely fight to keep private. McCourt’s attorneys are obviously attempting […]
In a blow to the proposed divorce settlement between Frank and Jamie McCourt that could have cleared up the tangled finances of the Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has rejected a Fox loan against broadcast rights to Dodgers game — the proceeds of which would settle Jamie’s claims and help the team make […]
Frank and Jamie McCourt reached a tentative divorce agreement that would potentially allow Frank to retain control of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but with one huge condition: in order to fund a settlement, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig must approve a controversial long-term sale of TV broadcast rights to Fox Sports. The settlement, announced this morning, […]