Comcast has a tight grip on Philadelphia sports fans with its SportsNet Philadelphia channel, which has been the exclusive carrier of games from the Phillies, Flyers and 76ers. But now Comcast will have to make the channel available to satellite-TV providers, thanks to FCC-approved terms of its deal for NBC Universal.
Even after turning down a higher offer from the New York Yankees, pitcher Cliff Lee won't be hurting: He's set to rake in $120 million from the Phillies. But is that high salary a good business move for the team?
Philadelphia Phillies fans are outspending the fans of every other team on League Championship Series and World Series tickets. They've also boosted post-season sales of Phillies gear up 40% year over year. Will all the fan ferver help the team to victory?
News Corp.'s Fox has pulled its channels off Cablevision after a programming deal expired at midnight Saturday. The move means 3 million viewers in Philadelphia and New York could miss the first game in the National League Championship Series between the Phillies and the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.
