MLB's Television Network Will Broadcast 26 Games in 2009
18/05/2007 |
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Major League Baseball's television network will broadcast 26 games during its premier year on the air in 2009.
The games will likely be shown nationwide on Saturday nights on what will be called the ``MLB Network,'' said Tim Brosnan, the sport's executive vice president for business. The games won't be blacked out in a team's home market, and executives have yet to determine the selection process.
The channel's success will depend on the non-game programming, Brosnan said. It will be available in 47 million homes, making it the biggest launch for any cable television network, he said.
``This network will not rise and fall with the number of games we have on it, rather, the non-live event creativity we put on it,'' Brosnan told reporters after baseball concluded its two-day owners meeting in New York.
Baseball owns two-thirds of the network, with DirecTV Group Inc., Comcast Corp., Cox Communications Inc. and Time Warner Inc. owning the rest.
The league initially reached an exclusive seven-year, $700 million deal with DirecTV, the largest U.S. satellite-television company, for the out-of-market packages. After a U.S. congressional hearing and fan backlash, the sport reached agreements with the cable companies that also gave them a stake in the channel.
``We used the out-of-market package to leverage distribution,'' Brosnan said.
The contracts guarantee baseball $80 million a year in revenue, Brosnan said. The amount could rise to $100 million a year based on an increase in subscribers.
Baseball's 30 owners unanimously approved the creation of the network, said Commissioner Bud Selig. The channel will begin broadcasting on Jan. 1, 2009.
(Source: Bloomberg.com)
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