Well not really shocking.As I have said from the word go, the Astros have screwed Houston out of both the Astros and the Rockets. This will not end well. You'll note the Rockets no comment seeing as they are on the CSN side of this dispute. http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2013/09/bankruptcy-petition-filed-on-behalf-of-comcast-sportsnet-houston/
This will not end well as in CSN Houston will be dissolved? Or the Astros will continue to be stubborn?
Since this is in the Astros forum, I will say that if the deal dissolves... and leaves both teams with scrappy tv deals... the Astros (Reid Ryan) has already said that they won't be able to compete at an even average payroll level (think more Tampa/Oakland vs. mid-market teams like Milwaukee/St. Louis). Then again, if there is no coverage for the current channel, they won't be in that position to begin with. What a mess... Drayton makes the deal that significantly raises the value of the ballclub, and now the deal is not worth the paper it was written on... leaving Crane (and the Astros fans) stuck with the debt.
Article doesn't really tell us much, it just seems like a lot of gamesmanship to me, by both sides. Doesn't seem to be anything shocking or groundbreaking at all, well, except maybe this: From the Stros side: "Comcast has improperly filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition in an attempt to prevent the Astros from terminating the Media Rights Agreement between the Astros and Houston Regional Sports Network,” the statement said. “HRSN failed to pay the Astros media rights fees in July, August and September, and we have invested additional money in order to keep the network viable through our season."
Just shows what type of salesman Uncle Drayton was - he sold Crane a castle in the sky for top dollar. This should give the Drayton fans a clear picture of whom he truly was! Hey Crane, I hear the George Straight has some Ocean front Property Oklahoma! You better get in on it before, anybody else hears about it.
From this I gather that the Astros really did block a deal which pissed off NBC and the Rockets. Meanwhile in Temple, Texas. Hey Jimmy Crane, what are you doing to become a champion today? Hehehe Signed, Uncle Drayton
If I remember right, the Astros were set to make $80MM/yr from CSN, but the FSN deal that was on the table was $60MM/year. Whether they can still get that or not, I have no idea, but the numbers aren't ridiculously different.
Actually I think the FSN deal was more money than the CSN deal but they got no ownership stake. That was the big difference.
I'm just quoting what Reid Ryan said in an interview last month. http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2013/8/25/4658068/astros-insights-from-reid-ryan "He spoke at length about CSN, but unfortunately there's just not much new ground to cover here. He did say that he expects to be able to pay free agent salaries when the time is right regardless of whether CSN happens. The difference is, if there's no CSN we become the Rays or A's and have more of a revolving door focusing on more value-type guys. If CSN does happen we have the ability to become more like the '90s-'00s Astros with recognizable long term faces in the lineup (but with a better plan behind the scenes)."
I'm not sure any network will pay close to what they offered three years ago. Part of this "be as bad as we possibly can" rebuilding plan had to bank on not having to worry about getting a new tv deal. With the CSN one in place, they were free to tank away.
Are u saying it's not true, he didn't say it, he's wrong, or you're just frustrated? What is the real story?
Of course he's going to play the "woe is poor little ol' me" card while negotiations are still ongoing. The Stros, when all is said and done in a couple of years, will absolutely NOT be a bottom-tier franchise financially. Drayton, cheapskate, gladhanding, chiseler that he was, still managed to pony up about a decade of ~$80-100M payrolls.
Exactly - there's no reason the Astros wouldn't be able to have the same payrolls they had 5-10 years ago when they had a fraction of the TV deal they would have even without CSN.
So you're basing that the current regime is lying because of the actions of the former regime? The same former regime that definitely found ways to cut spending to player development to justify the major league payroll? Also not sure how playing "woe is me" effects the negotiations with other cable companies. I'm just saying what has been said. Everybody that defends Crane and co. does so by quoting what they have said ("we will spend the money when the tine is right."), but I haven't seen anything reputable in response to Ryan's comments. It will not be a good thing if they come out of this tv deal with nothing.
