Posted on 02/12/2007 9:29:45 PM PST by SmithL
Time Warner Inc. finalized an agreement Monday to sell the Atlanta Braves to Liberty Media Corp. after more than a year of negotiations.
The deal, which values the team at $450 million, was submitted to Major League Baseball for its approval process, two people familiar with the deal said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made and publicly traded companies were involved.
The parties hope baseball will approve the sale in time for the team to be transferred by opening day, the person said. Under the agreement, Terry McGuirk will remain in charge of the team after the sale. General manager John Schuerholz and manager Bobby Cox also are expected to remain on, the person said.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the finalization on its Web site, said Time Warner will transfer the Braves, a group of craft magazines and $1 billion in cash to Liberty in exchange for about 60 million shares of Time Warner. Based on the closing price of Time Warner's stock Monday, the market value of those shares would be about $1.27 billion.
Liberty Media spokesman John Orr and Time Warner spokesman Ed Adler declined to comment.
"We received certain of the sale documents today but have not yet reviewed them," said Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer.
He said baseball staff will go over the documents to make sure they meet baseball's usual sale rules.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Ted Turner would be turning over in his grave,
except he's not dead, yet.
Ted Turner would be turning over in his grave,
except he's not dead, yet.
That too funny Smith I wonder if Ted Fonda be in loony bin after hearing this
OH hey Atlanta freepers I just hear Time Warner selling Atlanta Braves to unnamed party according to ESPN.com
except he's not dead, yet.
Well keep a good thought he just may .
Cowards Sell Braves
He will be soon, cause the Chairman of Liberty Media is a Republican and considered "family" by Rupert Murdoch. lol
And, Malone donated $1000 to Tom Tancredo during the last election cycle. lol
The Buffalo Bills of baseball
OMG you mean chairman is not only part of News corp also personal family of Murdoch family that drive Ted BATTY ROFL
I remember when Murdoch bought LA Dodgers saying that why Aussie buy US baseball team he wasn't born in Los Angeles WELL HELL TED you not exactly be throwing stones here HELLO
That's a strange deal. Usually the negotiations are undergone prior to the finalization of the agreement. I guess sports business isn't business as usual.
Not a biological member of the family, but Murdoch considers him just as close. In the 90s when NewsCorp was struggling, Malone was the one who stepped in to help out. His holdings in NewsCorp was, and may still be, only 2% less than the Murdoch's.
So he is family friend I get it that too funny LMAO that drive Ted batty ROFL
Anything is better than "Turner" field. I would love it if they renamed it Murdoch field, if nothing more than to cheese Ted off.
better YET name it News corp new stadium that drive Ted crazy ROFL
As much as I despise Ted Turner, "Turner Field" is far better than a corporate name on a baseball field.
YEAHH you got it ROFL
OR better YET Fox News channel stadium that drive ted up the wall ROFL
"Anything is better than "Turner" field. I would love it if they renamed it Murdoch field, if nothing more than to cheese Ted off."
I submit, for your consideration, "The Hank tank."
Short Ted Turner, buy John Malone...historically, this would have made you a fortune...the first is dumb as a sack of hammers, the second is very smart.
"The Buffalo Bills of baseball"
Except for the fact that the Braves won it all in '95. Unlike the Bills who didn't win a Superbowl during their 4-year reign as AFC champs from 1990 to 1993.
The Braves are worth less than half what the Yankees are worth?
Braves Field is a possibility, but that was the team's park in Boston until they left for Milwaukee in 1953.
How about Braves Park?
I would name it "Hank Aaron Field." Just as a reminder to * as to who the real Home Run King will always be.
Maybe, but Turner ran a darn good baseball team and, under his stewardship, turned the Braves from a perennial last place club to one of the best franchises in MLB.
Fox Field?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfMUwCKtWMI
Not really sure there is a connection to this story, but couldn't resist the chance to use this video, which is hilarious. Sorry.
"Coca Cola Park" is on it's way to Atlanta... ;)
Isn't Bob Bennett also on the Board at Liberty Media?
LOL. For the last five years I have watched all of the regular season and none of the playoffs.
My question is this...and I am not sure if anyone has this answer...does this mean the nearly 30 year run of Braves games running on WTBS is over? Since that is a Turner Network and the Atlanta Braves home station?
They always touted them as "America's Team"..stolen from the Dallas Cowboys of course.
I found this to answer some of my question...from an AP article
There are more changes off the field. The team's well-known broadcast team broke up; Don Sutton moved to the Washington Nationals, Pete Van Wieren is radio-only, and Skip Caray will have a limited presence on TV. In the meantime, "America's Team" no longer applies as TBS moves away from showing Braves games to a nationwide audience, eroding the franchise's far-flung fan base.
Chip Caray, Joe Simpson and Skip Caray Return as 2007 TBS Braves Baseball Announcers
TBS Returns with a 70-game Braves Package in 2007 and Exclusive Division and LCS Coverage
Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) announced today its broadcasting line-up for the network’s 2007 coverage of Atlanta Braves baseball with Chip Caray and Joe Simpson at the helm of the TBS television booth. Longtime TBS announcer Skip Caray will make select appearances throughout the baseball season, and occasionally high-profile guest analysts will join the TBS booth. TBS host Marc Fein will return to the studio to provide viewers with updates and highlights of baseball action from around the league. The network will air 70 games on TBS this year, which marks its 31st year of televising Atlanta Braves baseball on the network. Also in 2007, TBS will be the exclusive home to the MLB Division Series and League Championship Series playoff games.
“We’re thrilled to welcome back Chip, Joe and Skip to the TBS announcers’ booth for another exciting year of Braves baseball," said Jeff Behnke, Turner Sports executive producer. “We are confident that our announcer lineup for TBS in 2007 will once again serve Atlanta Braves fans, as well as Major League Baseball fans in general, well with their unparalleled knowledge, insight and analysis of the game.” Chip Caray is in his third consecutive year of calling Braves baseball on TBS and also spent the 1991 and 1992 seasons in the booth for Turner-owned SportSouth. Caray also served as the play-by-play announcer for two TBS Saturday Night College Football games during the 2006 season. With 20 years in the sports broadcasting business, Caray has been the voice of several professional teams, including seven seasons with the Chicago Cubs, three with the Seattle Mariners and nine with the NBA’s Orlando Magic.
A retired MLB player, Simpson played professionally for 11 seasons, beginning in 1973 when he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round. He joined the Mariners in 1979 before being traded to the Kansas City Royals in 1983. An outfielder and first baseman throughout his professional career, he retired from the California Angels organization following the 1984 season. After spending five seasons as an announcer for the Seattle Mariners, he joined TBS and has been a Braves announcer for 16 years. Simpson was named the “Georgia Sports Broadcaster of the Year” in 1995.
Skip Caray has been a part of the TBS baseball booth for 32 years. Caray came into broadcasting naturally as the son of Harry Caray, the former Chicago Cubs Hall-of-Fame play-by-play announcer, and he has worked for three years with broadcast partner and son, Chip Caray. In 1991, the three generations of Carays - Harry, Skip and Chip - worked together on a Chicago Cubs/Atlanta Braves game. Skip Caray has also served as the voice for the University of Missouri football, St. Louis University basketball, Atlanta Flames hockey and Atlanta Hawks basketball throughout his career.
TBS is now the exclusive television home of the MLB Division Series Playoff games, the League Championship Series beginning with the National League in 2007 and rotating ever year, as well as the MLB All-Star Game Selection Show in July. The network will also telecast all tiebreaker games. TBS announcer rotation plans for the network’s coverage of the Division Series and League Championship Series will be announced at a later date
>>>>
This of course was all agreed to before the deal happened.
Starting in 2008, when it eliminates the national Braves telecasts, TBS will televise a regular-season package of 26 league-wide Sunday afternoon games. Chip Caray will handle play-by-play on those games, too, Behnke said. (Starting in '08, TBS will show 45 Braves games per season in the metro Atlanta market.)
In the final season of national Braves telecasts on TBS, the biggest change will be the absence of Van Wieren and, for the most part, Skip Caray. Viewers also might notice a broadening of the telecasts as TBS transitions toward its postseason and league-wide packages.
"We're going to give the Atlanta Braves fans at home what they tune in to see, the focus being on the Braves," Behnke said. "But what we will do ... is intermix more production elements regarding the entire baseball world, whether it's graphics, head shots, animations, standings of different divisions.
"With us acquiring the postseason, we definitely want people to know we have it. And we think Atlanta Braves fans want to know what's going on in the rest of baseball as well."
And for fans who want to know why there was no room for Van Wieren and little room for Skip Caray on TBS after 31 years, Behnke offered: "With the number of games being reduced, there simply wasn't the room for us to have the five announcers anymore. It's just like in any business — if you lose a lot of business, you only need so much personnel. Pete and Skip both had a tremendous opportunity to do radio, and believe me, those guys are a part of the TBS fabric and we love those guys. But we got to a point where it just simply was a numbers game."
That was the end of my interest in Major League Baseball. To this day, I don't give a damn about Major League Baseball.
Dang I do not know about you, but I am going to miss watching the Braves on TBS. Just grew up with them, when no other baseball was on, the Braves were always there. Even when they were bad, they were a good watch.
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