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Fox Sports could pay at least $6 billion to retain the Dodgers’ television rights, three parties familiar with the negotiations said Sunday.
The deal could be worth three times what the Dodgers’ new owners paid for the team and almost 20 times the value of the Dodgers’ current television contract.
The deal is not done, the parties said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing negotiations.
If the two sides do not strike a deal by Friday, the Dodgers would have until the following Friday to present Fox with a final offer, according to the team’s current contract. Fox would then have 30 days to accept or reject the offer.
In the absence of a deal, the Dodgers would be free to open talks with Time Warner Cable SportsNet or launch a team-owned cable channel.
The new television deal should launch the Dodgers into baseball’s financial stratosphere and could provide fans with a team-branded channel – think former owner Frank McCourt’s concept of “DTV: Dodger Television” — that emphasizes interactive programming before, during and after games.
The Dodgers’ proposed contract reflects the sharply escalating value of live television sports in an era when viewers watch many other programs at their convenience, skipping the commercials along the way.
The New York Yankees’ television rights fee is set to climb from $85 million in 2013 to about $300 million by 2042, according to news reports.
The Lakers’ fee is $120 million this season, in the first year of a 20-year TWC contract that escalates regularly and averages $180 million per season, with a five-year option at about $280 million per season.
The Dodgers’ deal, proposed for 25 years, would average $240 million per year at $6 billion, or $280 million per year at $7 billion.
In addition, because of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court settlement between McCourt and Major League Baseball, the portion of the Dodgers’ television revenues contributed to MLB revenue sharing would be about $1 billion rather than about $2 billion. (MLB disputes that interpretation of the settlement, but the court rather than the league has the final say.)
Under the Dodgers’ current television contract, Fox pays $350 million over 12 years, an average of $29 million. In the 2013 season, the final one in the current deal, Fox pays the team $39 million
The deal could be worth three times what the Dodgers’ new owners paid for the team and almost 20 times the value of the Dodgers’ current television contract.
The deal is not done, the parties said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing negotiations.
If the two sides do not strike a deal by Friday, the Dodgers would have until the following Friday to present Fox with a final offer, according to the team’s current contract. Fox would then have 30 days to accept or reject the offer.
In the absence of a deal, the Dodgers would be free to open talks with Time Warner Cable SportsNet or launch a team-owned cable channel.
The new television deal should launch the Dodgers into baseball’s financial stratosphere and could provide fans with a team-branded channel – think former owner Frank McCourt’s concept of “DTV: Dodger Television” — that emphasizes interactive programming before, during and after games.
The Dodgers’ proposed contract reflects the sharply escalating value of live television sports in an era when viewers watch many other programs at their convenience, skipping the commercials along the way.
The New York Yankees’ television rights fee is set to climb from $85 million in 2013 to about $300 million by 2042, according to news reports.
The Lakers’ fee is $120 million this season, in the first year of a 20-year TWC contract that escalates regularly and averages $180 million per season, with a five-year option at about $280 million per season.
The Dodgers’ deal, proposed for 25 years, would average $240 million per year at $6 billion, or $280 million per year at $7 billion.
In addition, because of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court settlement between McCourt and Major League Baseball, the portion of the Dodgers’ television revenues contributed to MLB revenue sharing would be about $1 billion rather than about $2 billion. (MLB disputes that interpretation of the settlement, but the court rather than the league has the final say.)
Under the Dodgers’ current television contract, Fox pays $350 million over 12 years, an average of $29 million. In the 2013 season, the final one in the current deal, Fox pays the team $39 million
A $200 million increase in annual revenue. Unbelievable.
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