Sports industry executives believe Hill is on stable ground with his views. Six years from now, the entertainment prime-time ratings might be a 2 rating, so Fox's baseball deal would look good. The major events are gathering places for the public and continue to have significant value to sponsors. Fox grabbed the NFL in 1993 with the goal of making a network, not a profit, and it appears that gaining virtual network exclusivity for baseball falls into a similar category. Hill chose to sidestep when asked if Fox anticipates a profit on baseball.
Baseball is content.
We're more than a network. There are many ways to slice and dice this deal. This goes beyond the network. In the new deal, Fox will televise every World Series and All-Star Game along with most of the postseason, taking over games NBC and ESPN formerly televised. On Monday night, Boston Public , a show that was heavily promoted on our baseball telecasts, received a 9.5 national rating.