Checketts & GolTV

The St. Louis Business Journal reported yesterday that Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts has signed a letter of intent to purchase an 80% stake in GolTV.

Because I'm slow this way, my first reaction to this news was, "All right...now GolTV will carry MLS! And maybe I'll finally be able to get that on my cable package without updating to the Triple-Forged Platinum Package."

But it turns out this is making some of the white hats - e.g. other players in Major League Soccer (MLS) as well as tweaking the nerves of some of the TV outlets (ESPN, Fox Sports, etc.) that laid out some dough for the next couple years' worth of broadcasting rights:

"[Executives with some of the league's broadcasters] deem it inappropriate for one of the league's owner-operators to buy a network that competes directly with MLS media partners."


The explanation for the angst doesn't go much beyond that - and MLS officials are, for the time being, standing pat till they learn more. Think I'll make like them for the time being. But this obviously bears watching.

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