Nbc, Fox To Iron Out Contract

Baseball’s new television deals likely won’t be in place until next week or the week after.

Baseball and television executives said Tuesday it still appeared that NBC and Fox would split the network broadcasting rights for the next five years but that nothing had been completed.

Under the deals being discussed, NBC would televise the World Series in 1997 and 1999 and Fox would broadcast it in 1996, 1998, 2000. The two networks both would broadcast part of the playoffs each year,

NBC would televise three All-Star games and Fox would televise two. Fox also would televise a game of the week package each Saturday.

ESPN and Turner’s TNT network also would be part of the package, with each cable network televising games during the first round of the playoffs. It would mark the first time baseball televised postseason games on cable.

The television executives said the deal would be worth more than $1 billion or more during the five years.NBC Sports spokesman Ed Markey and Fox Sports spokesman Vince Wladicka continued to decline comment as did acting commissioner Bud Selig.

Baseball’s ruling executive council is to meet Thursday in Milwaukee, and the television contracts are among the items on the agenda.

Challenge to ESPN

In a challenge to ESPN, the owner of the Fox television network and the nation’s biggest cable TV system operator have formed an alliance to obtain sports programming and televise it worldwide.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Ltd., which owns the Fox Broadcasting Co., and the cable company Tele-Communications Inc. said Tuesday they will each own 50 percent of the venture.

The alliance is expected to become a formidable figure in bidding for sports rights around the world, competing with the likes of ESPN, the U.S. cable sports channel operator controlled by Capital Cities/ABC Inc. Both companies own a combination of TV channels and sports program rights that they will contribute to the venture. The partners said the assets are valued at more than $2 billion in all.

News Corp. will contribute its 2-year-old fX cable network that currently has about 25 million subscribers. The fX network currently airs entertainment programing but will add sports to the mix.

In addition, News Corp. has agreed to pay Liberty $300 million in cash, said Chase Carey, chairman and chief executive of Fox.

Liberty is contributing its interests in 15 regional sports networks that often carry the Prime Sports banner as well as rights to televise soccer, boxing, college football, professional basketball and other sports.

Ratings up

World Series ratings increased 13 percent this year over 1993, the first time they’ve gone up in four years.

Atlanta’s six-game victory over Cleveland averaged a 19.5 rating and 33 share, Nielsen Media Research said. The rating was well above the 17.3 rating and 30 share for Toronto’s six-game victory over Philadelphia two years ago but 3 percent below the 20.2 for the Blue Jays’ six-game victory over the Braves in 1991.

It was the third-lowest rated Series ever, trailing only 1993 and the 16.4 for Oakland’s earthquake-interrupted sweep of San Francisco in 1989.

The World Series rating was 40 percent higher than the NBA finals’ 13.9 for Houston’s sweep of Orlando.