Fox will not go through with the Dodgers broadcast contract if Frank McCourt goes into bankruptcy court.
A bankruptcy judge could overrule Selig and order approval of the Fox contract _ one McCourt says could be worth $3 billion _ to ensure the Dodgers’ creditors are paid in full. Fox would respond that it is not bound to the agreement since a contract has not been executed and it would not support the Dodgers’ owner should he ask a bankruptcy judge to implement the deal, said one of the people familiar with the matter who is not authorized to speak publicly because of the sensitivity of the circumstances.
Fox’s current contract with MLB runs through 2013. Fox likes broadcasting major league baseball, as they get great ratings in October showing the playoffs.* The MLB deal means more to them than the Dodgers deal. This is why I think Bud should let the Dodgers contract go through. That way, MLB clears Jamie McCourt out of the way, and then MLB can work on throwing out McCourt as a bad owner. Once that’s done, MLB can use the leverage of the 2013 MLB deal to get a better regional contract for the Dodgers.
*This is not saying the ratings for the games are great. Fox does better than they would otherwise, and that’s all they care about.
If the goal is to get rid of McCourt, why let the contract go through? That just gives McCourt more money to make payroll, fuel litigation, and hang onto the team.
I really don’t care much one way or the other about the Dodgers and McCourt. In fact, I think they’re being used as scapegoats for baseball’s much more general problems. But if MLB just has to unload McCourt for whatever reason, starving him of money seems the most logical option.
Plus it would be 10+ years before the new owner could do anything about the local deal.
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