promised by whom? how can he claim that he was wronged because he didn't get a rate from directv that Comcast said he would get. why wouldn't he just ask directv?
Not his job to "just ask DirecTv". Comcast should've known a realistic rate and presented that to Drayton, Les, and subsequently Crane. They didn't understand their own market in their own freaking industry and now Crane looks like the bad guy in all of this.
I hear ya...but that's kinda like my homebuilder expecting me to verify the price of the wood floors being put in my house instead of relying on the pricing provided by the homebuilder. I trust that the homebuilder got it right and if they misquoted it...tough t*tties for them. I'm not paying for their mistake, and that's exactly what Crane's predicament is. He and his investors have to pay for Comcast's mistake (or misrepresentation, as it were).
* If Comcast made a misrepresentation as Crane alleges. Edit: I don't know who is right or wrong. I don't think Crane had any business talking with DTV. Comcast was the lead negotiator and it was their responsibility to know and disclose this type of information to Crane (or to McLane who then would disclose to Crane).
Im listening to what you guys are saying. This has been a question of mine from the beginning. From last year actually. I think crane is using it as an excuse because I think he feels he was forced to take on ownership of the rsn deal. I just don't think he wants to be in that business. But that is all speculation
I doubt he was forced to buy CSN as part of the Astros deal. Drayton could have held on to that or they could have potentially sold it to the other partners at the time as part of the deal (when it still had value).
I'm the opposite. I think he needs the $$ that the rsn generates for his team...not only to help satisfy his investors as soon as possible but also to funnel cash into the operations of the club. If I'm allocating the cash I expect to get from the RSN only to find out I'm only getting half of what I was told to expect...I'd probably have to take a hard line as well. Yes, we the fans are being made to suffer, but I can't necessarily blame Crane for wanting the commitments made to him to be honored. If they can't be honored, then concessions need to be made by the party that screwed it up in the first place. It sounds as if Comcast is just saying "sure we promised you the moon. Will you settle for Baytown instead?"
His allegation was that he was presented with evidence later that Comcast absolutely knew the numbers they told him were attainable were not attainable when they told him that. I don't know if it happened or not..but that's the allegation.
Except similar numbers were attainable elsewhere with the Rangers TV deal that Cane had likely done due dilgence on when he tried to buy that team. I think all 3 parties expected the numbers but the bottom fell out. Crane is so highly leveraged that he has to have the money CSN H was hoping to get. He's trying to get it from Drayton now.
Except that, at the time he would have had to call DTV regarding rates, he wasn't the owner of any part of the RSN. He would have had to call them and say..."hello. I am thinking about buying a share of this channel. Right now, I don't own anything and have no negotiating authority. Would you agree to this rate? I'm just taking a survey." It's laughable to think that DTV would even entertain such a call.
That silly scenario is laughable. Having the main players Comcast, Les and Drayton broker meetings with the providers isn't. Crane is crying about not getting info he has asked for. Why the hell did he buy the team if they weren't providing info? Being lied too and not receiving info he requested were part of his latest pity party.
um, can someone clue me (new to Twitter) in on who to "follow" so I can get crap-free updates there? I'd like to abandon wading through this thread now.
Its not like those numbers are confidential. They have been floating around the media since last year.
Why would they do that when Comcast was the party in charge of the negotiations pursuant to the contract? You don't. You take information and projections from the party that has been negotiating the rates and has all of the industry experience. That makes a lot more sense than some brokered group field trip to a fake negotiating session.
Because of exactly what happened, the market changes. You needed to benchmark projections against market reality before you sign on the dotted line. The Astros were about to become the largest shareholder and are the obviously the most desperate to have the numbers they thought they were going to get. Even if you aren't holding Crane accountable, I'm sure his shareholders are. With Crane potentially coming in there's nothing wrong with getting all the parties together to level set current status amongst the providers. That's certainly a better move than crying "I got duped, somebody, anybody pay me" at this juncture.
They're absolutely confidential. Even in the bankruptcy hearing they were kept confidential. Comcast filed motions sealing the records regarding those bids. Crane was on the stand and was instructed not to give numbers when talking about where the bids were.
