20121203-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_--
11/30/2012
2:08 PM
Page 1
$2.00/DECEMBER 3 - 9, 2012
STO sale could be next in TV’s wild west INSIDE: A look at how the value of local MLB television deals have skyrocketed in value recently. Page 19
Market for sports grows riper, and Dolans may be ready to deal By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com
The Dolan family may be close to selling all or part of its SportsTime Ohio cable channel to Fox Sports Media Group, as Fox builds its stable of regional sports networks and consolidates plans for a national
cable sports network to rival industry giant ESPN. A source familiar with the Cleveland sports cable market told Crain’s Cleveland Business the two organizations are in serious talks about a sale of STO. Rhode Island-based sports media reporter Ken Fang, who contributes to the online Sports
Media Journal and blogs at www .fangsbites.com, said he, too, is hearing that a deal is in the works. A sale could be a boon for the Dolan-owned Cleveland Indians baseball team. Not only would the Dolan family profit from the sale of the cable channel it built from the ground up beginning in 2006,
but the transaction could include a lucrative long-term deal for the Indians’ broadcast rights. Derek Baine, an analyst at SNL Kagan, a Monterey, Calif.-based media consultancy, estimated STO could be worth $350 million in a sale.
A long-term broadcast rights deal also could double the Indians’ television income, currently estimated at $30 million a year. Through a spokesperson, Fox Sports declined comment. It is not clear whether Fox Sports would consolidate operations of STO with its Fox Sports Ohio, which is based in Broadview Heights. It operates two channels in some markets. See STO Page 19
Ad buyers slowly see importance of daily PD wane Readers have rallied as assumed reduction in print schedule nears By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com
MARC GOLUB
Parker Aerospace’s Brandon Rollins fits a hose on a fuel nozzle used in an engine for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
AEROSPACE SUPPLIERS’ DREAMS COME TRUE 47
Area companies see robust activity from new Boeing plane’s popularity
By GINGER CHRIST gchrist@crain.com
W
hen it comes to Boeing Co.’s new 787 aircraft — the Dreamliner — manufacturers in Northeast Ohio are on board. Local manufacturers are responsible for parts ranging from engine fuel pumps to forgings on the plane. And, with 844 Dreamliners on order — and 38 already delivered — there’s a lot of work for companies in Northeast Ohio that help make those planes come together. Ohio doesn’t perform final assembly on the Dreamliner, which had its first U.S. flight in November. However, the state does provide Boeing with more suppliers for its commercial aircraft than any other in the country, with many of those
While editorial employees at The Plain Dealer are buoyed by the thousands of readers who have jumped on the bandwagon to save seven-day-a-week publication of Cleveland’s only general circulation newspaper, they should be concerned that one key segment of the community — advertisers and advertising agencies — are not enthusiastically on board. Though most of the ad business professionals contacted by Crain’s Cleveland Business personally would miss reading the PD over breakfast every morning, professionally they realize they don’t need a mass circulation print vehicle seven days a week to reach their key audiences. And that assessment, more than reader response, is what makes it increasingly likely that, sometime after Jan. 31 of next year, Advance Publications Inc., the privately held company that owns the daily paper, will trim up to four days from the PD’s weekly publishing schedule. See ADS Page 8
INSIDE MAC makes football progress But it’s expensive, making the prospect of Kent State keeping rising coach Darrell Hazell (right) a dicey proposition. PAGE 3 PLUS: ■ Timken Co. considers, but decides against, advice to sell off its steel business, but still could be forced to do so by a shareholder vote. PAGE 3
See DREAM Page 19
0
NEWSPAPER
74470 83781
7
SPECIAL SECTION
PHILANTHROPY Especially at the holidays, companies struggle to decide to which nonprofits they’ll give ■ Page 13 PLUS: NONPROFITS WARM TO TECHNOLOGY ■ & MORE
Entire contents © 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. Vol. 33, No. 47