Stars to KTXA, NewsCorp/Fox as a buyer to keep on FSSW?

[txchipk]

Just like their currently co-owned Texas Rangers, the over-the-air Dallas Stars games will jump from Fox-owned KDFI 27 "My 27" to CBS-owned KTXA 21 "TXA21" for home games starting this season. TXA is doing Friday night Rangers games; for the Stars, it will be Saturday night games. Hooray, unlike few KDFI had, all will be in HD.
http://stars.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=535140&navid=DL|DAL|home

So, KTXA now has the OTA Mavs, Rangers, and Stars, plus the couple of OTA NFL Network Cowboys games.


As part of the Rangers bankruptcy, even if the Stars and Rangers end up with seperate owners, they apparently wil be tethered together in a joint venture to look at starting their own network once the contract with FSSW expires in 2014. Note the Star new KTXA agreement expires in 2014 as well.

http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2010/06/28/daily2.html

Recall that Hicks tried once before in the 1990s when he owned KXTX 39, but ended up signing a lucrative contract with FSSW.

New news this week is that Fox is interested in buying the Rangers and Stars to secure them for FSSW.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...ars/stories/080110dnspostarslede.2327d06.html

With Comcast interested in a CSN for Houston with the Astros and Rockets, if the Stars and Rangers also go someplace else, FSSW will have nothing but the Mavs, Spurs, and Thunder.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/barron/7025919.html

 

[arnoldevns]

News Corp paid 500 million for 10 years of Rangers/Stars rights at the start of this current deal. Buying both teams would cost maybe 800 million. I could see them going much higher than that to make sure they keep the teams on FSSW

 

[cowboybud]

Hicks didn't own KXTX. He tried to start a cable network for the Rangers and Stars in the mid-90s, but they wound up staying with Prime/FSN. There was one year where the Rangers did not have a cable partner, and most of their games were on KXTX.

 

[txchipk]

Hicks didn't own KXTX.

Here's the FCC filing to transfer KXTX from Hicks (Southwest Sports) to Telemundo:

https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/w...xt=25&appn=100574606&formid=314&fac_num=35994

Here's an article back then on the sale:
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2001/06/25/daily30.html

He tried to start a cable network for the Rangers and Stars in the mid-90s, but they wound up staying with Prime/FSN. There was one year where the Rangers did not have a cable partner, and most of their games were on KXTX.

Hicks had LMAed KXTX from Pat Robertson, eventually buying it in 1999. As I mentioned in my original post, he had the intent of using KXTX as part of a new media operation that owned all the games of the Stars and Rangers (KXTX for OTA and a new cable channel -- http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/27585). In the late '90s, KXTX had the OTA Rangers and Mavs games. Hicks had announced his intention to move the Stars to KXTX once the then-current contract with FSN/KDFI expired. Fox offered the very lucrative 10 year deal for the Rangers and Stars on FSN and KDFI and Hicks went with that, scrapping plans to launch a competing network, and putting KXTX for sale. The sale to one group to launch a new Spanish-language network ended up falling apart and eventually KXTX was sold to Telemundo.

 

[arnoldevns]

While Fox said it would not bid on the Rangers, they are still (apparently) bidding to buy the Stars. There is logic in this. If the new Rangers owner is compelled to do a deal for TV rights with the Stars, it stands to reason that if Fox owns the Stars the deal would not include a new regional/team-owned channel. The Rangers could try to go it alone with a Rangers only network, but that seems highly unlikely.

 

[salemjedi54]

Hicks didn't own KXTX.

Here's the FCC filing to transfer KXTX from Hicks (Southwest Sports) to Telemundo:

https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/w...xt=25&appn=100574606&formid=314&fac_num=35994

Here's an article back then on the sale:
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2001/06/25/daily30.html

He tried to start a cable network for the Rangers and Stars in the mid-90s, but they wound up staying with Prime/FSN. There was one year where the Rangers did not have a cable partner, and most of their games were on KXTX.

Hicks had LMAed KXTX from Pat Robertson, eventually buying it in 1999. As I mentioned in my original post, he had the intent of using KXTX as part of a new media operation that owned all the games of the Stars and Rangers (KXTX for OTA and a new cable channel -- http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/27585). In the late '90s, KXTX had the OTA Rangers and Mavs games. Hicks had announced his intention to move the Stars to KXTX once the then-current contract with FSN/KDFI expired. Fox offered the very lucrative 10 year deal for the Rangers and Stars on FSN and KDFI and Hicks went with that, scrapping plans to launch a competing network, and putting KXTX for sale. The sale to one group to launch a new Spanish-language network ended up falling apart and eventually KXTX was sold to Telemundo.

Hicks also owned some of Lin TV. Lin owned KXAS and KXTX at the time. Lin got the Rangers total broadcast rights for 5/39 right before the Ballpark opened.

 

[txchipk]

The DMN reported the other day that NewsCorp has dropped out as a bidder for the Stars, just as they did for the Rangers. Looks like it is down to a Vancouver billionaire and a Calgary billionaire as bidders (at least they both like hockey!).