04/24/24
November 20, 2012
Could the Yankees Be Sold?: Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is acquiring 49 percent of the YES Network, the broadcaster of the New York Yankees. Most of the stake is coming from Goldman Sachs, which owned 40 percent, but some may come from the Yankees' own 34 percent share. Murdoch reportedly will have the right to increase his share to 80 percent within five years. "Can you imagine The Boss allowing someone else, anyone else, to have control over an entity that he valued as much as the Yankees?" asks Wallace Matthews. "[H]istory shows that once [Murdoch] gets his foot in the door, he winds up owning the place. ... And from there, how much of a stretch is it to imagine Murdoch, or his family, seeking to own the team as well?"
I was always worried that Trump would want to own a piece of the Yanks.
(Living in New England, the fact that I would worry about such a thing denotes the degree of esteem to which the Donald is held).
posted by beaverboard at 03:40 PM on November 20, 2012
And somehow, Mark Cuban will never get a team.
posted by feloniousmonk at 06:09 PM on November 20, 2012
What they need is Rupert Murdoch, one of the most reviled men in the history of worldwide media sport, to own them.
North Sydney Bears fan here. I know of what I speak.
posted by owlhouse at 09:03 PM on November 20, 2012
Somewhere, Keith Olbermann, who despises Murdoch (both politically and since he was fired from Fox Sports in the late 90s), is burning his season tickets.
posted by jjzucal at 10:28 PM on November 20, 2012
Oh god no, not that right-wing pig-animal.
(yeah, it's better than The Donald; otoh, it's increasingly clear that Trump's euphemistally-termed "hairpiece" is just a cover for his tin-foil hat, and that he's likely to be in a psych ward before too much longer and not a threat to my favorite baseball team)
posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:16 AM on November 21, 2012
That piece of shit Murdoch is trying to buying Formula One currently as well.
posted by Drood at 07:19 PM on November 21, 2012
Heaven only knows what promos he'll force announcers to give.
He's probably also upset he lost American rights to the EPL, so this will be his biggest piece in American sports now. All of his Fox Sports channels are regional; the Yankees are top-5 worldwide in club value.
posted by jjzucal at 07:55 PM on November 21, 2012
Actually Speed is being rebranded into their first national sports channel. If you watch now the "Fox Sports" logo has been added. Apparently that's the first step toward a total rebranding and expansion of content on the network.
NASCAR is signed up through 2016 I believe. Not sure what else is happening, but it largely sounds like Speed as it is now is dead come next year.
posted by Drood at 03:44 PM on November 24, 2012
Because the Yankees aren't already one of the most, if not the most, polarizing organization in American professional sports today. What they need is Rupert Murdoch, one of the most reviled men in the history of worldwide media, to own them. This can only end well.