Fox Sports West 2

Fox Sports West 2 continues to make headway in reaching more Southern California cable households, announcing three new deals Monday. The big one is a 10-year agreement with MediaOne, formerly Continental Cablevision. With 550,000 subscribers, it is the Southland's largest cable system. Some MediaOne systems will begin carrying Fox Sports West 2 on or before Aug. 1 and others on Sept. 1.

Television reporter Carolyn Hughes, co-host of the Dodger pregame and postgame shows on FSN West 2, has been off the air for about two weeks as FSN executives investigate her relationship with Dodger Derek Lowe. Trinka Lowe, the Dodger pitcher's wife of seven years, alleged an improper relationship between her husband and Hughes in phone messages left for FSN executives.

When Fox Sports West 2 was launched in January, only a few Southern California cable companies--and no major ones--offered the new regional sports network. The conjecture, though, was that other companies would come around before the start of the baseball season because of Fox Sports West 2's 40-game Dodger package that begins with today's season opener. But cable operators, as a group, are resisting Fox Sports West and its parent company, Fox Sports Net.

A dispute that took Dodger telecasts off Fox Sports West 2 in cable television households in the Los Angeles area served by Media One has been settled. After negotiations that began Friday and continued through the weekend, an accord was reached. The dispute also threatened to take Angel telecasts off Fox Sports West in Media One homes beginning Aug. 3, but that has also been settled. "We're happy to have this resolved," said Fox Sports West spokesman Steve Webster.

The Mighty Ducks games will continue to be broadcast on the Fox Sports West 2 through the 1997-98 season, under a settlement of four lawsuits announced Friday. The Walt Disney Co., which owns the Ducks, sued Fox when it switched the games from Fox Sports West to the fledgling cable channel. At the time, no Orange County cable company carried the new channel, and many Ducks fans were enraged.

A dispute that took Dodger telecasts off Fox Sports West 2 in cable television households in the Los Angeles area served by Media One has been settled. After negotiations that began Friday and continued through the weekend, an accord was reached. The dispute also threatened to take Angel telecasts off Fox Sports West in Media One homes beginning Aug. 3, but that has also been settled. "We're happy to have this resolved," said Fox Sports West spokesman Steve Webster.

The Fox Group scored a major victory over Disney in their battle for sports supremacy in Southern California, as Disney has scrapped plans to launch ESPN West. It was announced Monday that the Disney-owned Angels and Mighty Ducks have entered into a 10-year television agreement with Fox Sports West and Fox Sports West 2 and that agreement signals a retreat for Disney in its effort to expand into the regional sports network business, a Fox domain.

When the Angels return to Edison Field tonight, an advertising panel will be missing in right field. No longer will fans--and television viewers--see a sign promising, "ESPN West: Coming Fall 1998." ESPN West isn't coming, not this fall and probably never. Despite Monday's announcement that Disney's Angels and Mighty Ducks would play on the cable network owned by rival Fox and not on Disney's proposed ESPN West, Fox isn't the only winner. Disney wins--the cash registers ring again.

Every student of Economics 101 knows that competition drives down prices. But that's not so in the perverse world of cable sports, where new bidders are driving up the cost of rights because of the limited pool of desirable games. Rupert Murdoch's plan to compete head to head against the powerful ESPN sports empire by linking together an assembly of regional channels is perhaps the clearest case in point. Cable operators say his News Corp.'

Television reporter Carolyn Hughes, co-host of the Dodger pregame and postgame shows on FSN West 2, has been off the air for about two weeks as FSN executives investigate her relationship with Dodger Derek Lowe. Trinka Lowe, the Dodger pitcher's wife of seven years, alleged an improper relationship between her husband and Hughes in phone messages left for FSN executives.

Site--Target Center. * Radio--KCTD (1540). * Records--Clippers 9-37, Timberwolves 24-23. * Record vs. Timberwolves--2-1. * Update--The Clippers have lost two in a row, but they have a two-game winning streak over Minnesota. The Timberwolves won by 22 at the Sports Arena in the first meeting between the teams on Feb. 14. The Clippers won at Minnesota March 21 and at the Sports Arena April 8.

When the Angels return to Edison Field tonight, an advertising panel will be missing in right field. No longer will fans--and television viewers--see a sign promising, "ESPN West: Coming Fall 1998." ESPN West isn't coming, not this fall and probably never. Despite Monday's announcement that Disney's Angels and Mighty Ducks would play on the cable network owned by rival Fox and not on Disney's proposed ESPN West, Fox isn't the only winner. Disney wins--the cash registers ring again.

The Fox Group scored a major victory over Disney in their battle for sports supremacy in Southern California, as Disney has scrapped plans to launch ESPN West. It was announced Monday that the Disney-owned Angels and Mighty Ducks have entered into a 10-year television agreement with Fox Sports West and Fox Sports West 2 and that agreement signals a retreat for Disney in its effort to expand into the regional sports network business, a Fox domain.

Every student of Economics 101 knows that competition drives down prices. But that's not so in the perverse world of cable sports, where new bidders are driving up the cost of rights because of the limited pool of desirable games. Rupert Murdoch's plan to compete head to head against the powerful ESPN sports empire by linking together an assembly of regional channels is perhaps the clearest case in point. Cable operators say his News Corp.'

The Mighty Ducks games will continue to be broadcast on the Fox Sports West 2 through the 1997-98 season, under a settlement of four lawsuits announced Friday. The Walt Disney Co., which owns the Ducks, sued Fox when it switched the games from Fox Sports West to the fledgling cable channel. At the time, no Orange County cable company carried the new channel, and many Ducks fans were enraged.

Fox Sports West 2 continues to make headway in reaching more Southern California cable households, announcing three new deals Monday. The big one is a 10-year agreement with MediaOne, formerly Continental Cablevision. With 550,000 subscribers, it is the Southland's largest cable system. Some MediaOne systems will begin carrying Fox Sports West 2 on or before Aug. 1 and others on Sept. 1.

Fox Sports West 2 has made a major breakthrough with Southern California cable operators, announcing Tuesday the completion of deals with three companies. Tony Ball, president and chief operating officer of the Fox-Liberty networks, Fox Sports West's parent company, said the new deals are with TCI Cablevision, Charter Communications and Jones Intercable. The companies represent more than 650,000 cable households. The deals bring the number of subscribers to Fox Sports West 2 to 1.1 million.

The Mighty Ducks lost the first round of their dispute with Fox Sports over what channel will televise their games when an Orange County Superior Court denied a request by the team that the games be shown on Fox Sports West, not Fox Sports West 2. Judge Ronald C. Kline's ruling allows Fox Sports West 2 to continue showing Duck games. The Ducks had complained that because no cable operator in Orange County has agreed to carry the start-up station, games are unavailable to their fans.

Fox Sports West 2 made its debut on an Orange County cable system Friday after Fox Sports and Cox Communications reached an agreement, the cable company announced. The regional sports network is available to nearly all 210,000 Cox customers throughout the county. Laguna Beach viewers will have to wait for a cable system upgrade project to be completed, which is expected later this summer.

Fox Sports West 2 has made a major breakthrough with Southern California cable operators, announcing Tuesday the completion of deals with three companies. Tony Ball, president and chief operating officer of the Fox-Liberty networks, Fox Sports West's parent company, said the new deals are with TCI Cablevision, Charter Communications and Jones Intercable. The companies represent more than 650,000 cable households. The deals bring the number of subscribers to Fox Sports West 2 to 1.1 million.