Sunday, April 17, 2005 |
The Landmine-Strewn Road To An Angels Cable Network
"We really believe here that when you have a baseball game on for three hours, it's like having a three-hour infomercial," Angels president Dennis Kuhl said. "You can promote upcoming games, community affairs, giveaway nights, sell tickets, group sales. You're selling the team. It's exposure to the sport, it's exposure for kids. The more exposure we can get, the more fans we will have."Disney tried to create ESPN West, a competitor to Fox Sports West and Fox Sports West 2, but could never get the Angels out of their prior commitments. Ultimately, Disney backed down, and the Angels are on the FSW networks through 2008. Inadequate distribution is "by far the biggest challenge an Angels channel would face", and since most cable operators are unwilling to take on a third regional sports network, Arte's got an uphill climb....
"As an RSN, you are going to sell ad time and then try to get $2 a month for every household," said Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. "That's a massive number of households in the greater L.A. area - six to eight million households. That's $15million a month, $180million a year. It can be a rather handsome proposition ... if you can hurdle all the obstacles."
One possibility would be to join with another sport that operates mainly in winter; hockey or basketball would be the logical choices there. Since the Lakers have "reportedly" renewed their Fox Sports West commitment through 2012, the next most likely partner would be ... the (not-so-) Mighty Ducks.
But Arte could pull it off, even despite the fact that Disney, which already owned a network (ESPN), couldn't. Industry analysts cite Moreno's background in marketing, the improved atmosphere for regional cable networks in conjunction with local cable operators, the Angels' recent title, technological changes (digital cable makes it easier to add channels), and Arte's long-term vision for the franchise as positives.
"If you're a team that has short-term financial needs and requirements, and banks are coming after you, it's very difficult to walk away from a third party that's offering you a check," [Lee Berke, president of LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media Inc.] said. "By the same token, if you're building your operation for the long term and looking to build a long-term asset, networks are truly the way to go."People who get it come from strong business and marketing backgrounds. When you own a team, you own content. You're a content provider. If you can control the means of how it's presented, you ultimately boost the bottom line."
: 4/18/2005 08:58:00 AM
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