The Other LCS deal update (Will it ever be aired)

[oldvnewschool]

It's been 3 months since the MLB-TV Deal with FOX to televise the

World Series, All Star Game, and one LCS until 2013.

With the playoffs starting on Tuesday, you would think by now the deal for

the other LCS would be made by someone like Versus, TBS, or even ESPN.

I'm starting to wonder that MLB screwed up by not making that deal on the

same day.

I feel that no one will pick it up because with Versus, not enough people

have access to the station making it impossible for people to see it on a regular

basis. Then you have TBS & ESPN being bleeded dry from their previous deals

so they are out of it.

FX could make and should make a play for it, but with their parent company

being bled dry by MLB too, that won't happend.

I think MLB made a stupid mistake and they need to own it up.

They need to do what NFL did with the Thursday-Saturday Package, and launch

their own channel.

 

[jackdfw]

"With the playoffs starting on Tuesday, you would think by now the deal for
the other LCS would be made..."

You are aware that the new TV contracts go into effect next season, are you not?

 

[K-RockFan]

I hope Versus gets the deal. Not enough people...lol they have 70 million people that can watch Versus.

 

[KML0224]

I get that channel and I hope they DON'T get the games. Secondary coverage on FX is bad enough.

 

[K-RockFan]

FX is a bad channel never cared for it. But if Versus wants to compete with ESPN get the deal. I though the Cal Ripen world series was good coverage so why not?

 

[MarkL]

If Versus were to get the other LCS, then you'd see cable and satellite providers make the channel avaliable to everyone.

I think what's holding back the deal is that MLB wants to package it with another game-of-the-week and a nightly MLB produced highlights show, which ESPN, TBS, and FX aren't willing to do.

 

[DoctorBear]

If Versus were to get the other LCS, then you'd see cable and satellite providers make the channel avaliable to everyone.

Not likely...NFL Network has regular-season NFL games, but cable companies don't want to pay for it. VS. would raise its rates and maybe even lose some systems.

 

[Morgan Wick]

What I suspect is really holding up the deal is that MLB, like me, wants to keep the other LCS on broadcast but, for various reasons (consider that I'm the first on this thread considering it), the Big 3 aren't biting. They all had nightmares with baseball deals in the early 90's.

I don't see how NBC or CBS can squeeze in a regular baseball game in weekend daytime, since they form the only remaining broadcast homes for golf.

Saturday primetime, aping ABC's "Saturday Night [College] Football", might be another matter. It's not good for NBC, though, since the Stanley Cup Finals kick in that time slot in June.

An LCS-only deal with ABC, which I once thought unthinkable (despite it being the status quo with NBC from the start of the Fox deal through 2000, and with Fox itself now with the BCS), now looks like it could end up being the most likely option, since it's "ESPN on ABC" now, and would simply be a continuation of ESPN's regular season baseball coverage (either the "Sunday Night Baseball" team or Brent Musberger paired with some random retired player would probably be the announce team). This has the added bonus of compensating ESPN for shutting them out of the playoffs in the deals thus far. (Remember, if the LCS was on ESPN then MLB would have to schedule around "Monday Night Football" and ESPN's other commitments throughout the week, like College Football on Saturday and Thursday.)

As for the CW, they're far from the point that Fox was when they made their daring play for NFC rights.

It's also possible Fox is obstructing a deal that both MLB and its partner like because it could infringe on their rights or the prestige of their coverage.