By David Murphy
St. Peterburg Times
Published: 12/20/2006
Excerpt:
It was billed as "one of the most significant announcements in AFL history," but its roots can be traced to a quiet conversation between former CBS sports president Neil Pilson and current ESPN executives John Skipper and John Wildhack last spring.
Pilson, now a consultant for the Arena Football League, had some history negotiating deals with ESPN, so when it became apparent the league's four-year relationship with NBC was about to end, he mentioned to Skipper and Wildhack that it would soon be looking for a new broadcast partner.
The seed was planted, and last week, after six months of negotiations, the network and the league found themselves in agreement on the principal parts of a deal that commissioner David Baker is convinced will give his sport the market reach it has long sought. ...
... The result is a five-year deal that provides ESPN with "extensive multimedia rights" and a minimum of 26 televised games each season, and also gives the network minority ownership in the league. Hoping to capitalize on the nation's affinity for Monday Night Football, the network will broadcast a weekly AFL game on Monday night. It will also air nine playoff games, including the ArenaBowl. ...
... But the new deal raises a few questions about the relationship between news and entertainment. Because ESPN, which is owned by Disney, will own a slice of the AFL (nobody would say how large), it stands to benefit from any growth the AFL experiences. It takes only a bit of linear deduction to realize ESPN could benefit financially from giving the league better play on its news-oriented platforms, such as ESPN.com or SportsCenter.
