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Indians/ONN

schmave

schmave

OK, I know this is about TV but I feared it would get buried on the national TV post. Anyone heard anything about ONN's rumored efforts to acquire TV rights for the Indians now that FSN Ohio's contract has expired? It's been reported that ONN will be focusing more programming on Cleveland, possibly like they do here in Columbus/central Ohio, in the near future.
I'd think having Tribe games would force ONN to further regionalize its programming because the games probably can't be shown in Dayton and Cincinnati.
Anyone with any word/theories, feel free to fire away.
 
No Tribe In Cincy or Dayton

> Anyone with any word/theories, feel free to fire away.

Well, I've weighed in on the Mighty Blog of Fun(tm) the past few days (see link below), but one thing I haven't mentioned...

Major League Baseball territorial rights issues will assuredly mean that ONN wouldn't be able to run Indians games in the Reds' protected territory. I assume this would definitely include the Cincinnati metro, and likely Dayton as well.

I don't know how much of the Columbus region would be affected. I'm guessing that since it's historically been a split market between the Indians and Reds, they'd be able to run the Indians games in Columbus.

But they would NOT be able to run them in Cincinnati or Dayton, period. There could be some wiggle room on this - for example, a sports radio station in the Canton market (WTIG/990 Massillon) runs the Cincinnati Reds games - but not much.

One note that hasn't been brought up by anyone but yours truly yet - neither of the satellite TV providers (DirecTV/Dish) carries ONN at this time.

The latest is out of the Beacon's Sheldon Ocker the other day, who says a decision on the 2006 TV rights is expected "soon".

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
Re: No Tribe In Cincy or Dayton

> > Anyone with any word/theories, feel free to fire away.
>
> Well, I've weighed in on the Mighty Blog of Fun(tm) the past
> few days (see link below), but one thing I haven't
> mentioned...
>
> Major League Baseball territorial rights issues will
> assuredly mean that ONN wouldn't be able to run Indians
> games in the Reds' protected territory. I assume this would
> definitely include the Cincinnati metro, and likely Dayton
> as well.
>
> I don't know how much of the Columbus region would be
> affected. I'm guessing that since it's historically been a
> split market between the Indians and Reds, they'd be able to
> run the Indians games in Columbus.
>
> But they would NOT be able to run them in Cincinnati or
> Dayton, period. There could be some wiggle room on this -
> for example, a sports radio station in the Canton market
> (WTIG/990 Massillon) runs the Cincinnati Reds games - but
> not much.
>
> One note that hasn't been brought up by anyone but yours
> truly yet - neither of the satellite TV providers
> (DirecTV/Dish) carries ONN at this time.
>
> The latest is out of the Beacon's Sheldon Ocker the other
> day, who says a decision on the 2006 TV rights is expected
> "soon".
>
> -OA

A few more thoughts, and this is not to end any discussion but merely to add to it ...
We get Indians games here on FSN Ohio, actually to the point that most Reds broadcasts are bumped to an alternate channel. Once you get down to Springfield or Wilmington and Washington C.H., I don't believe Indians games are seen. They definitely aren't seen in Dayton.
I just can't see ONN getting the rights. They don't have enough cable penetration outside the large cities and I can't see the Indians banking on that changing overnight. And why leave FSN, which is pretty much all Cleveland all the time? I wouldn't mind seeing the Tribe games on ONN, or at least some on over-the-air TV, because it would free up more room for Reds-related things (Cubs fan first, Reds second) but again I don't see it happening.
 
i know ONN is in the hunt.........

keep in mind that ONN is owned, ultimately, by dispatch printing in columbus.

they may decide to throw some big money at the indians because it would get ONN
on some cable systems in Ohio which they are not on currently.

trust me they have the money.....it will all depend on just how bad FSN wants it.

my belief is that , ultimately FSN WILL get it and give some games to an over the air TV station to get the deal done .......

but do not count ONN out until the very last minute....



> OK, I know this is about TV but I feared it would get buried
> on the national TV post. Anyone heard anything about ONN's
> rumored efforts to acquire TV rights for the Indians now
> that FSN Ohio's contract has expired? It's been reported
> that ONN will be focusing more programming on Cleveland,
> possibly like they do here in Columbus/central Ohio, in the
> near future.
> I'd think having Tribe games would force ONN to further
> regionalize its programming because the games probably can't
> be shown in Dayton and Cincinnati.
> Anyone with any word/theories, feel free to fire away.
>
 
Re: No Tribe In Cincy or Dayton

You'd also run into a problem with ONN around Toledo, which is probably Detroit Tigers Territory..

Territorial restrictions are a strange thing..from what I understand, Columbus Blue Jackets games were aired for one year on Time Warner Cable in Canton..then were pulled..because the NHL ruled that the Canton market is Pittsburgh's territory..even thought Blue Jackets games are still listed on the Digital Cable listings for FSN..and even though the Penguins havent aired games here in years..they run on Fox Sports Pittsburgh..

Massillon Cable is going to have a major s-storm to deal with this week..since they don't carry ONN..if they can't cut a deal with ONN to run the live feed of the Tigers Division One Championship game with Saint X on one of their access channels..it means they'll be in the dark regarding a live T-V feed..

Oh the Humanity :)
 
Re: No Tribe In Cincy or Dayton

> Major League Baseball territorial rights issues will
> assuredly mean that ONN wouldn't be able to run Indians
> games in the Reds' protected territory. I assume this would
> definitely include the Cincinnati metro, and likely Dayton
> as well.

> But they would NOT be able to run them in Cincinnati or
> Dayton, period. There could be some wiggle room on this -
> for example, a sports radio station in the Canton market
> (WTIG/990 Massillon) runs the Cincinnati Reds games - but
> not much.

I was working at WTIG when that contract was signed. Right before opening day 2000, the Reds Radio Network disabled the station's sat. receiver because of a complaint from the Indians about territory infringement.

In turn, the station sued the Reds for breach of contract. IIRC, it came out that each team's territory is a 50-mile radius circle centered on each team's stadium. I would imagine that this would apply to both TV and radio. I'm not sure where the boundary would be for Cincinnati's territory, but Dayton would definitely be included.
 
Re: No Tribe In Cincy or Dayton

> In turn, the station sued the Reds for breach of contract.
> IIRC, it came out that each team's territory is a 50-mile
> radius circle centered on each team's stadium. I would
> imagine that this would apply to both TV and radio. I'm not
> sure where the boundary would be for Cincinnati's territory,
> but Dayton would definitely be included.

Interesting, when you consider downtown to downtown:

* Cleveland to Massillon - 54 miles
* Cincinnati to Dayton - 52 miles

And...

* Detroit to Toledo - 58 miles

(The distances are courtesy of Microsoft Streets and Trips and are highway miles downtown to downtown...since the routes are all fairly close to being direct, the air miles aren't that far off.)

I'm not sure what all this means, and if things are somewhat different when comparing cable headends to a 250 watt AM radio station. I suspect the TV market definitions are broader, and the 50 mile radius includes the boundaries of the TV market.

As far as Toledo, does FSN Ohio show the Indians up there?

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
Re: No Tribe In Cincy or Dayton

> > In turn, the station sued the Reds for breach of contract.
>
> > IIRC, it came out that each team's territory is a 50-mile
> > radius circle centered on each team's stadium. I would
> > imagine that this would apply to both TV and radio. I'm
> not
> > sure where the boundary would be for Cincinnati's
> territory,
> > but Dayton would definitely be included.
>
> Interesting, when you consider downtown to downtown:
>
> * Cleveland to Massillon - 54 miles
> * Cincinnati to Dayton - 52 miles
>
> And...
>
> * Detroit to Toledo - 58 miles
>
> (The distances are courtesy of Microsoft Streets and Trips
> and are highway miles downtown to downtown...since the
> routes are all fairly close to being direct, the air miles
> aren't that far off.)
>
> I'm not sure what all this means, and if things are somewhat
> different when comparing cable headends to a 250 watt AM
> radio station. I suspect the TV market definitions are
> broader, and the 50 mile radius includes the boundaries of
> the TV market.
>
> As far as Toledo, does FSN Ohio show the Indians up there?
>
> -OA

The Indians and Reds both are available on FSN Ohio in Toledo (oddly enough, the Cavaliers and Blue Jackets are not allowed to be shown there, but that's for another day). I think the only places the Indians aren't seen in the state are the Cincinnati and Dayton markets, and maybe down along the Ohio River near Portsmouth and Huntington, but they're safe everywhere else.
 
Re: No Tribe In Cincy or Dayton

> The Indians and Reds both are available on FSN Ohio in
> Toledo (oddly enough, the Cavaliers and Blue Jackets are not
> allowed to be shown there, but that's for another day).

Are they getting squeezed out by the Detroit NBA and NHL teams?

It's interesting that those territorial rights apparently block Cleveland's teams, but MLB's rights do not block the Indians and/or Reds up there.

> I think the only places the Indians aren't seen in the state
> are the Cincinnati and Dayton markets, and maybe down along
> the Ohio River near Portsmouth and Huntington, but they're
> safe everywhere else.

OK, so if we're talking about ONN picking up the Indians rights, they'll likely have to carve out a second feed that feeds Cincy and Dayton, and those other scattered areas.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
Re: No Tribe In Cincy or Dayton

Is FSN Detroit stil broadcast in T-Town?? I'm pretty sure it was when they launched it and I know PASS Sports was broadcast there. WTOL broadcasted Detroit Tigers games during the 80s and early 90s when WDIV in Detroit was the Tigers flagship, so I assume the Indians and Tigers share the Toledo area. I know all the Detroit teams have radio affiliates in Toledo and it seems to me that sports-wise, Toledo follows Detroit teams more than Cleveland teams.
 
My ONN...

This deal makes plenty of sense IMHO. Why should the Indians stay with FSN Ohio??? FSN Ohio is pathetic. Rainbow gave up on it and News Corp hasn't done anything with it either since they took it over a couple of years ago.

I see ONN morphing into a sports/news network hybrid. ONN can't be gaining much viewership nor much money currently. Some real original programming is needed and Ohio is ripe for a new regional sports network. They already carry the Columbus Crew, various college games and some high school games.

So here's what I envision. ONN picks up the Tribe and gets the Blue Jackets as well to cover the winter months. Dispatch is a major sponsor of the Jackets and I am sure the Jackets would like to get out of the Cavs shadow on FSN. Currently many of the Jackets games are booted for Cavs games in much of Ohio. Move to ONN and these conflicts are no longer a problem. More viewership and a better chance to develop a fan base in Cleveland. A win win for both sides.

Next I air Breakfast with the Buckeyes on Sunday mornings, a re-air of OSU's Saturday game with coaches review shows. Fox's Sun Sports has done this with great success with the Florida Gators and I have no doubt people in Ohio would watch it and the sponsors would eat it up too. Yes, you would need your own crew to broadcast it and I'm not sure how you acquire the rights to do this but it would make sense if it can be done.

I really don't see carriage as a big issue. I'm sure the satellie providers would jump on to pick up ONN if they picked up the Tribe. If they can add MASN which literally is nothing but the Washington Nationals, there's no reason they wouldn't add ONN. The digital cable and high channel location would be a barrier but I think that too could be crossed. Heck at one time, it was normal to pay extra for a sports channel and now with networks like the NFL's and NBA's, that trend is coming back.

As far as news goes, ONN should keep it, but go more in a hybrid mode. I expect Time Warner to create a regional news channel in NEO once they take over Adelphia's systems so that would hurt ONN. Adding sports would help them compete against any future competition. Dispatch has the money to do this, it's just a matter if they wanna give it a shot and take the time to do it right.
 
Re: No Tribe In Cincy or Dayton

> WTOL broadcasted Detroit Tigers games
> during the 80s and early 90s when WDIV in Detroit was the
> Tigers flagship...

Actually, I recall WUPW airing those games.<P ID="signature">______________
The only thing I gotta do is stay terrestrial and die!</P>
 
Re: No Tribe In Cincy or Dayton

> Is FSN Detroit stil broadcast in T-Town?? I'm pretty sure it
> was when they launched it and I know PASS Sports was
> broadcast there. WTOL broadcasted Detroit Tigers games
> during the 80s and early 90s when WDIV in Detroit was the
> Tigers flagship, so I assume the Indians and Tigers share
> the Toledo area. I know all the Detroit teams have radio
> affiliates in Toledo and it seems to me that sports-wise,
> Toledo follows Detroit teams more than Cleveland teams.

Yes, FSN Detroit and many of the Detroit/Windsor OTA channels (2,4,7,9 and 50) are shown in Toledo. In the 90s Fox 36 (WUPW) would broadcast some of the Tigers games that were on UPN50, and TV5 would air some of the Pistons games that UPN50 or WB20 carried. It's also fair to say that most Toledoans follow Detroit teams more; there's just more exposure to them up there.
The Indians and Browns have their ardent fan bases there and there's a small base of Reds fans to speak of as well.
 
Re: No Tribe In Cincy or Dayton

It very well could have been WUPW even back then. If I can find my old Tigers yearbook perhaps that will give me an answer. I had thought WUPW didn't air games until WKBD picked up the Tigers but my memory isn't always the best :)

Of course in the 80s the Tigers were a big deal, enough that WDIV was famous for constantly pre-empting NBC programming for Tigers games. Needless to say, NBC was not fond of that practice and this created a rivalry between WDIV and the head honchos at the network leading to all kinds of great stories. So it would make sense that WTOL would not have the Tigers so they would not suffer that same fate. I think I've rambled enough on this subject, so in closing, thanks for the correction :)

> > WTOL broadcasted Detroit Tigers games
> > during the 80s and early 90s when WDIV in Detroit was the
> > Tigers flagship...
>
> Actually, I recall WUPW airing those games.
>
 
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