According to the NY Post, LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer balked at Fox Sports‘ $60 million-a-year offer for local television rights, and is exploring the option of streaming his team’s games over the Web.
If successful, the former CEO of Microsoft would become the first major sports team owner to bypass traditional cable or satellite companies.
The NBA is reportedly also going ahead with pay-per-stream offers:
Clippers games are now aired to roughly 5 million Los Angeles-area homes through Fox Sports’ Prime Ticket regional sports network in a deal that runs through the 2015-16 season.
Prime Ticket currently pays the team a rights fee of $25 million a year — and offered a 140 percent increase, to $60 million, but the billionaire Ballmer turned it aside. […] Prime Ticket’s exclusive negotiating window closed in June, one source said — meaning Ballmer is free to negotiate with others.
Some observers think the bombastic Ballmer is merely using the threat of forming an over-the-top network as a play to wring more money from an RSN. But others think the plan is real. […] “Steve Ballmer has not renewed his deal with Fox,” said one source close to the situation. “He’s looking at a [digital] subscription channel.”
The post Clippers Owner May Stream Games After Turning Down $60 Million TV Deal appeared first on SLAMonline.
Source: http://ift.tt/1NYsktZ
{ 0 comments... read them below or add one }
Post a Comment