Major League Baseball--in the person of Commissioner Bud Selig--has rejected a proposed 17-year, $3 billion TV deal between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Fox Networks, stating it was "mortgaging the future of the franchise to the long-term detriment of the club and its fans."
The deal was worked out as a way to help finance team operations and resolve a bitter divorce battle between team owners Frank and Jamie McCourt. For Fox, it would have been a television coup in a market where Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) has been sharpening its sports acquisitions skills.
Selig saw it as just another way the McCourts were trying to reap benefits from the franchise to the detriment of the fan base.
"We owe it to the legion of loyal Dodgers fans to ensure that this club is being operated properly now and will be guided appropriately in the future. This transaction would not accomplish these goals," he said.
For more:
- the Boston Herald has this story
Related articles:
Time Warner Cable names sports boss, eyes filling CFO opening
Fox, Time Warner Cable in battle to control L.A. Dodgers