Rumble in Regional Sports

摘要

There's plenty of sweat trickling onto playing fields and courts every week. But the biggest battle in sports today is being waged by the suits on the sidelines fighting over local team programming. Look no further than Sacramento for a taste of the game. At 7:30 a.m. on the day the Sacramento Kings' pact with its longtime TV carrier, Fox Sports Net Bay Area, was to expire, executives at Kings parent Maloof Sports & Entertainment were already in a meeting. They were talking to cable giant Comcast Corp.—Fox's rival-to iron out a new TV deal. By the time the season kicked off on Nov. 2, the Kings were signed up for a 10-year run on the newly created Comcast SportsNet West. In turn, when it looked as if the Memphis Grizzlies might launch their own sports network, Fox Sports South jumped in just ahead of the season's tip-off and offered the team a six-year deal to drop its cable plans. Fox promised to show 60 games this year, vs. 25 last season.