BRAVES sold to Liberty Media

Hmm, well, not like they would make a run at the Series anyway.

 

Hope drowns eternal ...

 

They could make a run at the Series. Winning it is another thing alltogether.

 

One aspect of this sale that should get extra attention is the fact that the MLB Extra Innings package is now available exclusively on DirectTV (once the deal is finalized). The majority shareholder of DirectTV (38.5% I believe) is Liberty Media.

Liberty Media got that share of DirectTV in December from NewsCorp in exchange for Liberty's shares in NewsCorp.

http://ir.libertymedia.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=61138&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=944564&highlight=

Liberty Media gets the Braves, $1 billion and some craft magazines for Liberty's outstanding shares of Time Warner. It's like one big shell game or an adult version of trading baseball cards

 

As a lifelong Braves fan, pardon me if I don't get excited about the team being part of a tax swap. I'll go so far as to say that until the team is owned by someone who actually cares about how it does, it'll be no better than what it is now and has been for the past 11 seasons: Competitive.

 

Caring only for profits sounds a lot like Time Warner/AOL the last few years. The fact that the Braves won their last 3 or 4 division titles speaks loudly of how well Schuerholz and Cox run that team, all things considered.

And I guess this sale means that one Andruw Jones is officially on the trading block, which, coupled with the fact that I can't even watch the Braves anymore since they won't be on TBS, may end up being the doom of me being a big-time Braves follower. I love the Braves, always have, but if I can't watch them and they aren't committed to winning, I'm going to turn into a casual fan real quick.

 

I sure hope I'm not saying these exact same words in a few years. But I fear I will. :-\

 

As long as he doesn't end up in Boston, unless the Sox give up the farm for him then that would be OK.

 

Whoa, I must not be paying close enough attention! The Braves won't be on TBS anymore?

Edit: Nevermind. Did a search and saw the news. Fuck TBS. Just what we need. Another cable channel full of Seinfeld, Raymond and Sex and the City reruns. Not to mention its "stellar" originals.

Fuck TBS. I'd rather have Turner back running things.

 

What a pisser.

 

Along those lines....does anyone know if MLB will still be avalible via their online package if thir directv deal goes through?

 

MLB.TV is still available and the DirectTV helps increase the value of that offering from MLB.

Also - just for the record TBS has 70 Braves games this year.