Clippers owner turns down $60M offer for TV rights

[mvcg66b3r]

Steve Ballmer, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, has turned down a $60 million-a-year offer for local TV rights and is forging ahead with a plan to start his own over-the-top streaming network, The Post has learned.

If he follows through on the plan, Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, would be the first owner of a major US sports team to deliver games direct-to-consumer via a Web-based service and not through traditional cable or satellite companies, sources said.

http://nypost.com/2015/08/27/steve-ballmer-rejects-60m-offer-so-he-can-stream-clippers-games/

 

[ShawnHill1]

I know this is a rather-late response, but if Ballmer were to go through with this idea of starting a streaming channel for the Clippers, I don't see it succeeding in this current broadcasting climate. I say this even as a long-time Clipper fan, but as good as they are right now (the best stretch of success they've ever had in their history), they don't have the cache to launch their own network (whether it be strictly streaming or traditional linear means) like the Dodgers and Lakers have, and we've seen the troubles that Time Warner Cable has had getting these channels to wide distribution (more particularly, the Dodgers' SportsNet LA). The Clippers would also have to overcome some logistical headaches in launching a streaming network, because it would more or less compete with the NBA's own League Pass seasonal package, plus they would have to make sure the network's distribution is limited to the team's designated broadcast area (all of Southern California, Las Vegas, and Hawaii).

I think the Clippers will re-up with Fox, especially given that Prime Ticket would virtually be worthless to TV providers without the Clippers (no offense to Ducks and Kings fans). All Fox Sports has left regionally are the Angels (signed through 2030), the aforementioned local hockey teams (both of them recent recently signed contract extensions with Fox), high school sports (all except the L.A. City schools), some local college sports (minus the Pac-12), and whatever national programming that's provided by FSN. It wouldn't surprise me either if Fox sweetens the pot by giving the Clippers an equity stake in Prime Ticket (the Angels have a 20-percent stake in Fox Sports West).