David Geffen Interested in Buying Clippers

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304163604579532113389840556?mg=reno64-wsj

April 29, 2014 5:06 p.m. ET

Media mogul David Geffen. Getty Images

A basic rule in the sports business is that high-quality franchises in major markets don't come up for sale very often.

As a result, if the National Basketball Association is able to force Donald Sterling to sell the Los Angeles Clippers, there will likely be no shortage of bidders for a team that plays in a city mad for pro basketball, features two of the league's biggest stars— Blake Griffin and Chris Paul —and shares a home court with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Clippers, like other NBA franchises, are due to get a windfall from a new national media deal. In addition, the Clippers' local media-rights deal expires after the 2015-16 season, giving any new owner the opportunity to strike a lucrative, long-term deal at a time when local sports rights have never been more valuable.

The team could fetch roughly $700 million, possibly more, people familiar with the matter said.  

Advertisers Back Away From L.A. Clippers

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304163604579529792022822928?mod=wsj_streaming_latest-headlines&mg=reno64-wsj

Kia will continue its relationship with the Clippers' Blake Griffin, shown jumping over a car, but is suspending its sponsorship of the team. Reuters

More than a half dozen sponsors of the Los Angeles Clippers, including Kia Motors,000270.SE +0.17% Virgin America, Red Bull, Aquahydrate, CarMax KMX +0.44% and State Farm Insurance, distanced themselves from the National Basketball Association team on Monday in the wake of reports about racially insensitive comments allegedly made by Clippers owner Donald Sterling. 

Take Me Out to the Ballgame/Movies with FOX Sports Wisconsin & the Boys & Girls Clubs

In collaboration with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee, FOX Sports Wisconsin brought the “Baseball in the Dominican Republic” series, from the TV screen to the silver screen for a special screening and talk back session. 

 
A FOX Sports Supports partner, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America aims to “enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.” 

The series follows select Brewers players back home to Dominican Republic and proves that hard work and the right mindset (following your dreams) can be the key to success, despite humble beginnings and challenging circumstances.  With such an important and inspirational message attached to the series, FOX Sports Wisconsin wanted to share the message with local Club kids.

Grab your popcorn and read on for additional details...

ESPN, Turner Looking for More Flex Scheduling in New NBA Rights Deals

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2014/04/28/Media/NBA-flex.aspx

The NBA is a league of stars, and TV networks clamor to put the biggest ones on a national stage as often as possible.

SBJ Podcast:
Media writer John Ourand and NBA reporter John Lombardo discuss what the league's TV partners want and the difficulty of incorporating a more flexible NBA schedule.

This season, both ESPN and TNT placed big bets on those marquee players, loading up on their number of telecasts featuring Kobe Bryant running the floor for the Los Angeles Lakers and Carmelo Anthony scoring at will for the New York Knicks. 

But both teams were busts on the floor and, as follows, proved to be ratings duds. Bryant missed most of the season with a leg injury, and Anthony’s Knicks drew spring headlines only for their front-office overhaul; neither club made the playoffs. In the run-up to the postseason, though, ABC was stuck with a Lakers-Clippers game — a blowout win for the Clippers that posted viewership numbers 18 percent below ABC’s season average. 

Columbus Blue Jackets Record High Ratings on FOX Sports Ohio

"Monday’s Game 3 was the most-watched Blue Jackets game ever aired on Fox Sports Ohio, drawing an 8.27 rating that equates to roughly 77,000 households. The previous most-watched game was Game 1 vs. the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, the first post-season game in franchise history." 

- Aaron Portzline, The Columbus Dispatch

This new record is 44% higher than the previous highest-rated game. (Game 1 between the Jackets and Red Wings on 4.16.2009 earned a 5.73 HH rating on FOX Sports Ohio.)

Games 1 and 2 of this playoff series are also in the record books. Game 2 garnered a 4.7 and Game 1 a 4.5, making them now the 3rd and 4th most-watched Blue Jackets games on FOX Sports Ohio.

Kagan: Dodgers RSN ranks as 5th most expensive RSN in the nation

By Adam Gajo

http://www1.snl.com/interactivex/article.aspx?KPLT=7&id=27779562

The drama over the Los Angeles Dodgers' network, SportsNet LA, in the Los Angeles market continues to play out. We all love risk in sports, which is part of what makes it so exciting to watch. When a player goes outside of the norm and puts his reputation on the line to do something great, that is at the core of what sports is all about. We do not, however, appreciate when the risk occurs in the board room and results in preventing millions of dedicated sports fans from watching their beloved team on TV. 

Local NBA: Big markets take big hits in local viewership

By John Ourand & John Lombardo, Staff Writers

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2014/04/21/Media/NBA-RSNs.aspx

Published April 21, 2014, Page 4

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The NBA’s three biggest media markets posted significant drops in local TV viewership this season, with the five clubs in those markets shedding a combined 259,000 homes per game from last year.