who would have thunk it?????

 

Report: Murdoch might sell Dodgers within 6 months

Jan. 5, 2003

SportsLine.com wire reports

 

 

 

 

LOS ANGELES -- Rupert Murdoch might put the Los Angeles Dodgers up for sale within the next six months, an Australian newspaper reported on its website Sunday.

Murdoch's News Corp. would sell the Dodgers to raise cash before bidding on the satellite television service DirecTV, The Age reported, citing unnamed Wall Street analysts.

 

A Dodgers spokesman acknowledged Sunday that the team could be sold if the right offer surfaced.

 

"As we've said with previous rumors about our organization being for sale, naturally they would do so, if the right buyer and the right price came along," said Derrick Hall, a senior vice president with the team. "However, there has been absolutely no indication that a sale is imminent."

 

Messages left for News Corp. spokesman Andrew Butcher were not immediately returned.

 

Butcher was quoted as telling the newspaper that no sale was imminent.

 

"There is no sale pending and there are no talks ongoing regarding the Dodgers," Butcher said.

 

The Dodgers were called the most unprofitable team in Major League Baseball last year in a study by Forbes Magazine.

 

News Corp. bought the Dodgers in 1998 to provide games for a California pay-TV channel.

 

 

 

AP NEWS

The Associated Press News Service

No one in there right mind would buy the Dodgers, which means they'll need to find a really stupid person, wheres JR when you need him.

Well, along with owning the Dodgers comes the stadium and a ton of land around the stadium (enough land for a football stadium) so they could be of value.

 

It makes sense though, it really explains why they are dumping salary and refusing to give players long term deals.

he original thinking was Murdouch wanted the Dodgers as part of a sports entertainment money making piece of his empire. The New Yorker magazine once opined that Murdoch might even want to move the team to Asia to establish dominance in an emerging market. It would appear that Murdoch's corporate plans are now going in a different direction.

 

The Dodgers were JR's first love, which is why we have blue seats at Comiskey.

he original thinking was Murdouch wanted the Dodgers as part of a sports entertainment money making piece of his empire.  The New Yorker magazine once opined that Murdoch might even want to move the team to Asia to establish dominance in an emerging market.  It would appear that Murdoch's corporate plans are now going in a  different direction.

 

The Dodgers were JR's first love, which is why we have blue seats at Comiskey. 

ahhh, but with his payroll, who will want to buy the team.

The value of the Dodgers would go up if they would just make a few more trades with KW.

The value of the Dodgers would go up if they would just make a few more trades with KW.

I'd love to make a few trades with Evans, imo, he is much worse then KW.

 

How about picking up Odalis Perez for Danny Wright

i think someone will take up the offer cause there is always some rich guy out there with a passion for baseball, and the dodgers have some of the greatest history ever, and that adelphia club buffet there is damn good!

Uh Oh, Evans won't have that deep pockets of FOX backing him anymore. I love it.

thats it lets take up a collection and buy the dodgers... we can trade kw for all of our good players and then win a world series ..........we can use this for our publicity campagine..... "the dodgers, the other white sox team" .....lol......actually the only reason i posted this article is mainly cause i thought it a bit interesting that the dodgers were considering selling.....wondering what it would mean to a guy like evans with new management to contend with..........i also found it interesting that an austrailian paper would know about it before the american press got wind .............

I'd love to make a few trades with Evans, imo, he is much worse then KW

It is good to know that at least one person out there thinks that besides me!

 

HSC, as far as the Austrailian papers knowing before a US source, given Murdoch's citizenship and corporate ownerships and business structures, doesn't surprise me at all. And it wouldn't surprise me if he sold to non-US ownership either. I believe that someday the Dodgers are going to be based in Japan.

I'd love to make a few trades with Evans, imo, he is much worse then KW

It is good to know that at least one person out there thinks that besides me!

 

HSC, as far as the Austrailian papers knowing before a US source, given Murdoch's citizenship and corporate ownerships and business structures, doesn't surprise me at all. And it wouldn't surprise me if he sold to non-US ownership either. I believe that someday the Dodgers are going to be based in Japan.

Many thought Murdoch would move the Dodgers to Asia.

 

Still, Murdoch is supposedly considering this move because he will eventually need the money to make a bid for Direct TV.

the whole thing just strikes me as odd....i dont know why.. i just leaves me with a weird feeling.........maybe its becasue it can happen and thinking on the things going on with jr that he too could get the sale bug up his ass and do something with our sox.......

I don't think so, HSC. Murdoch is a wheeler and dealer, loves to buy and sell. If his original plans for the Dodgers didn't work and he is moving on to DirectTV, makes sense he'd sell the Dodgers without a thought. He is not a baseball guy, probably doesn't even know what a baseball looks like. It was all about global or at least Asian market positioning.

 

Does DirectTV go overseas? Somehow I wonder if Murdoch if would sell with some contractual ties that would still allow him the entree he wants in the Asian market for his media empire.

I'd love to make a few trades with Evans, imo, he is much worse then KW

It is good to know that at least one person out there thinks that besides me!

 

HSC, as far as the Austrailian papers knowing before a US source, given Murdoch's citizenship and corporate ownerships and business structures, doesn't surprise me at all. And it wouldn't surprise me if he sold to non-US ownership either. I believe that someday the Dodgers are going to be based in Japan.

Many thought Murdoch would move the Dodgers to Asia.

 

Still, Murdoch is supposedly considering this move because he will eventually need the money to make a bid for Direct TV.

I heard that direct tv thing on kroq this morning from money.

 

Hopefully the dodgers will be in dissaray when the Sox come to town, I don't want to have to deal with a 19-0 ass beating like I had to last year in Anaheim.

Hopefully the dodgers will be in dissaray when the Sox come to town, I don't want to have to deal with a 19-0 ass beating like I had to last year in Anaheim.

That must have been a tough game to be at. Gees.

 

I have been lucky in that when I see the Sox on the road, they almost always win, and are at least in the game when they aren't, other than an 8-2 loss at Wrigley once. I can't imagine how dismal it is to be cheering the Sox and wearing Sox gear in a foreign stadium and have them lose that that.

Hopefully the dodgers will be in dissaray when the Sox come to town, I don't want to have to deal with a 19-0 ass beating like I had to last year in Anaheim.

That must have been a tough game to be at. Gees.

 

I have been lucky in that when I see the Sox on the road, they almost always win, and are at least in the game when they aren't, other than an 8-2 loss at Wrigley once. I can't imagine how dismal it is to be cheering the Sox and wearing Sox gear in a foreign stadium and have them lose that that.

Oh yes, it was very difficult, but hopefully just like in Anaheim, there will be plenty of Sox fans at Dodger Stadium this season... hopefully

I don't think so, HSC.  Murdoch is a wheeler and dealer, loves to buy and sell.  If his original plans for the Dodgers didn't work and he is moving on to DirectTV, makes sense he'd sell the Dodgers without a thought.  He is not a baseball guy, probably doesn't even know what a baseball looks like.  It was all about global or at least Asian market positioning.

 

Does DirectTV go overseas?  Somehow I wonder if Murdoch if would sell with some contractual ties that would still allow him the entree he wants in the Asian market for his media empire.

He bought the Dodgers to stifen (Sp?) ESPN's plans of creating a new ESPN Channel out here in California which would carry the Lakers, Dodgers, Angels and all the other sports teams.

 

The Angels were going to go (Disney owns ESPN) and then they were going to spread it on if it were sucessful and the plan was to put the fox sports out of business, cause we all know ESPN has a much better following and reputation.

 

ESPN still wants to do that out here, but they had to cancel the plans after the Dodgers reupped with Fox, cause they would never control the LA market without the Dodgers on board, plus the Angels still had a couple years with Fox Sports as did the other teams.

now that sounds like Murdoch...