MLS to NBC

by Dick Mac

One of the few things that News Corp. has done consistently well is the delivery of soccer to its United States audience.

Through its Fox Soccer Channel, it has doggedly presented club football from all over the world as well as the more popular international matches played between nations, generally as a lead-up the the quadrennial World Cup.

Without fail, FSC has attempted to present matches live and in their entirety, along with high-quality commentary and analysis. Unlike its sibling Fox Sports, which has bastardized American professional sports with ridiculous gimmicks, the least intelligent talking heads available in the market, and intrusive advertising, FSC has maintained a quiet dignity that treats is product (soccer) with respect and reverence.

Major League Soccer, the franchise-based United States soccer league, has relied upon and enjoyed a strong relationship with FSC. More often than not, the broadcast of MLS matches on FSC have been far superior to broadcasts by local outlets and dramatically better than any broadcast by the Mickey Mouse operation over at Disney-owned Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.

Being an American consumer of soccer is challenging. Upon returning from life in England almost ten years ago, I struggled to find access to the matches I wanted to watch. Today, there are many options.

Disney has increased the number of matches they broadcast, even though they regularly interrupt, delay, or pre-empt them to broadcast children's events for which only they as the broadcaster are making any real money. News Corp. doubled its soccer capacity with introduction of Fox Soccer Plus (FSP), which I am fortunate to have access to. With local provider MSG Network contracting to broadcast my local team's matches, and Spanish-language network Univision contracting for other MLS matches, I have access to quite a bit of soccer. The matches are still treated as bastard children by half the broadcasters under contract, and it's just as likely my match will be pre-empted as not, but at least the access is there and progress is progress!

FSC is losing, or giving-up, its contract with MLS, and the domestic league has signed on with NBC starting with the 2012 season.

This is likely good news for MLS, which as a franchise-driven enterprise is not terribly interested in the quality of the product delivery but is required to focus on the profit-taking; so, if the broadcaster is paying the fee, then they can present the sport in any haphazard way they choose.

Looking at NBC's long history of sports production, one might think a quality product is forthcoming, but looking at NBC's recent history, and considering they are now owned by the less-than-prestigious Comcast Corporation, it is likely the integrity of the broadcasts, when compared to FSC, will deteriorate to Disney levels.

The forthcoming and current MLS television deals with Comcast, Disney and Univsion all expire at the end of 2014.

If Comcast (as NBC) can deliver quality broadcasts, and Disney drops out of the soccer business altogether because they are so very bad at it, it is likely that soccer in America might enjoy some more success. If, however, Comcast takes the Disney route (which is more likely than not), American soccer fans will experience a devolution of soccer in the United States, and will have to settle-in for more years of sub-standard treatment at the hands of anti-soccer broadcasters like Disney.

I hope that Comcast/NBC does a good job, and I hope MLS makes a lot of money.

M.L.S. and NBC Sports Announce New TV Deal

News Of The World Did What?

by Dick Mac

In a despicable act of profiteering at the emotional expense of others, News Of The World hacked into the phone of a missing schoolgirl, compromised data that may have assisted law enforcement agencies in their search for her, and gave hope to the missing girl's family that their daughter was still alive and using her mobile phone. How did they do this? They deleted voice mails from the missing girl's mobile account.

Milly Dowler is dead, and nobody is saying that News OF The World killed her. In their drive to make money, which to these types of conservatives is the be all and end all of everything that is good, Christian and patriotic, they showed a complete disregard for law enforcement, personal safety of others, and decency. It sounds so American, so modern, so post-Reagan, so neo-Palin!

Of course, those in charge of News of The World at the time have been greatly rewarded by the publisher. (See, Rebekah Brooks.)

Who is the publisher?

News International, the sibling to News Corporation, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, the man American "conservatives" hold as a hero. Murdoch finances, the Fox News empire and other "news" agencies that earn no profits, and exist only as a means of promoting a political movement to destroy America, our Bill of Rights, and our way of life.

My favorite comments about this particular story are from Anorak:

The allegation is that Glenn Mulcaire, an investigator working for the News of the World allegedly, hacked into the mobile phone of Milly Dowler, the girl murdered by Levi Bellfield.

It is said that while the hunt for Milly was on, Mulcaire intercepted messages left by relatives and that some of these message were deleted when the message box became full. It is alleged that this made room for new messages.

So. One day a caller might have been told Milly’s message box was full. The next day they would have been allowed to leave a message.

The solicitor for Milly Dowler's parents, Mark Lewis, says this alleged act of deletion gave his clients false hope their daughter was alive.

It is said that this hacking dated from 2002 when the paper was being edited by Rebekah Brooks (nee Wade). What happen to her? Well, she is now News International's chief executive. Is it time for her to go? Will she be sacked? That could be troublesome. How about if she has a baby, and [leaves] on extend maternity leave? Watch this space. . . .

Many Americans will defend Murdoch because he gives credence to the lie that is American "conservatism." What News International did to the Milly Dowler case, News Corporation will happily do to anybody's child (even a conservative's child), because profiteering is the only thing important to them. Well, that and never paying any taxes on their profits.

All News Corporation outlets insist they are the voice of the world's victims (mostly rich people victimized by taxation), but the truth is they are the voice of victimization as long as there are profits to be made, and it won't inconvenience Mr. Murdoch and his friends.

Those who base their decisions on information they receive from News Corporation and News International are what's wrong with humanity. These are horrible companies that are happy to sponsor the end of civilization, because - well, profit is what Jesus meant when he preached.

Choose any article about Milly Dowler from the list below, and insert the name of your child/sister/cousin/neighbor and you will know exactly what Rupert Murdoch and his minions think of you.

The News Of The World hacked Milly Dowler's mobile - Google Search

Did The Fox Headquarters Get Hacked?

by Dick Mac

A video appeared on YouTube that shows the electronic ticker message board on the News Corporation headquarters at 47th and Sixth being hacked and the message changing to an anti-corporate message that Fox would never in a million years proclaim.

Fox News insists the hack is a hoax, and some news aggregators are taking that position. Of course they would insist it was a hoax -- they can't admit they've been hacked; and there is no mileage in prosecuting such a hack because it is mostly funny, not dangerous.

Some of us want to believe it is not a hoax, so we are taking that position.

Check it out for yourself:



Gawker is spreading Fox's story that it is a hoax: Was the Ticker At Fox News HQ Hacked?

News Corp. and Cablevision

by Dick Mac

News Corporation has pulled Fox 5 New York, MY9 New York, Fox29, FOX Business News, FOX Deportes, and Nat Geo Wild, from Cablevision.

On October 15, 2010, the agreement between News Corporation and Cablevision expired. Cablevision expected a price hike from the $70 million it paid for the last contract, and News Corporation sent a bill for $150 million. More than double the original price. Cablevision will not pay that much.

News Corporation has a lot of leverage in New York, because they have been allowed to own multiple broadcast outlets in this single market. The practice was unheard of in the past. Never was a single entity allowed to own multiple television stations in the past - before deregulation became the be all and end all of American patriotism.

One of the reasons that single entities were not allowed to own multiple stations in a single market was to prevent situations exactly like this. A corporation is holding a section of the market hostage and will stop at nothing to get more money.

I am thrilled that six News Corporation channels are off-the-air. I hope more go off the air, too. New York is a pretty big market and I hope Cablevision stands firm and demands NO INCREASE in the cost of these stations. I can sacrifice a few NFL games, some MLB playoffs, and Fox's original programming.

Someone needs to stand-up to News Corporation -- they are the closest thing we have to an evil empire in the USA -- and I hope Cablevision stands firm!

If Cablevision sticks to its guns, they will become heroic in my eyes.

People who need to have these Fox outlets can switch their service to satellite or high-speed. Those of us who care nothing about these stations can stay with Cablevision. Eventually, they will come back to Cablevision, because it's the best deal: Verizon demands a two-year contract for FiOS, and the satellite technology can be lost due to weather. Cablevision has excellent internet connectivity, no contract requirements, and phone service.

In the end it's all about what you get for your money. If you need Fox, then go to the other vendors. I don't need Fox, so I'll stay with Cablevision. In the end, the bottom-line for most people is money and value.

I get good value with Cablevision. I don't like them, but I get good value.

The battle for the hearts and minds of consumers is playing-out on the internet. Here is a pro-Fox site with pages of comments. Problem with this site is that there isn't anywhere to leave a comment. This leads me to believe that News Corporation has done what they do best: they have fabricated the comments.

Cablevision has published this FAQ about News Corp. Programming, and has a Facebook site where users can leave comments.

Influencing Elections Without Voting

by Dick Mac

News Corporation, especially its subsidiaries of Fox News and The New York Post, have been referred to as the media appendage of the Republican Party.

This isn't news, it's not even a stretch. Anybody who pays any attention to the dissemination of information knows that News Corporation broadcasts and distributes the party-line for conservatism, general, and the GOP, specifically.

No other news agency operates in such a complicit manner: not Gannett, not New York Times Corporation, not Time-Warner, no other company perfectly aligns itself with a political party as does News Corporation.

The Supreme Court, today's conservative power base, decided that corporations can spend money on electoral campaigns in the same manner as voting citizens. This is bad news for Americans.

There is so much wrong with this decision that the simple statement that corporations aren't people, and companies can't vote, seem too simplistic to even present as an argument. In reality, though, they are the best arguments: if you can't mark a ballot, you shouldn't be giving money to influence electoral campaigns.

Recently, Target and Best Buy have donated large sums of money to Republican campaigns, and you can probably bet your bottom dollar that every other corporation with an extra nickle in the bank plans on donating that money to the Republcians, as well. Why? They know that Republicans will enact laws that benefit business to the detriment of workers and consumers.

This is bad news for eveyrone, including teabaggers who work for a living.

News Corp. Gives Republicans $1 Million

Works For Me! News Corp. Wants To Pull Content From Google

by Dick Mac

News Corporation, parent of Fox News, might be the single corporation most responsible for the death of the news industry as a source of actual information. The head of the company uses his control of media outlets as a porpaganda tool, not an unbiased news agency. I do my best to avoid his companies. It's next to impossible to completely avoid the News Corp. empire, however, especially since they purchased myspace.com and The Wall Street Journal; but, we can make every effort.

News Corp. has implemented a right-wing agenda to manipulate the media that is duly impressive. Many of the more political outlets, like Fox News, run at a loss because the mission is not to make money but to shape the news and public opinion.

Many people don't know that Fox owns Fuel TV, National Geographic, and Speed. However, if you spend a day watching the National Geographic station, you will see that they are creating shows about war and crime that really don't fit the historic model of the National Geographic magazine.

I do my best to keep my television off of the News Corp. stations, I have never purchased the New York Post, and the myspace account I once used so much lies dormant.

I admit that I rely almost exclusively on News Corp.'s Fox Soccer Channel for my access to soccer broadcasts. News Corporation's international reach (the head of the company is from Australia and has successfully entered the British communications market), allows it to provide soccer programming that its closest rival, Disney (who owns ESPN) is struggling to play catch-up in that market (the largest sports market on the planet).

In a recent interview, the head of News Corporation said that he was considering a move to block Google bots from accessing News Corp. servers and signing an exclusive contract with Microsoft to provide access to that content through it's new search engine bing.com.

This move will make my research much easier. If every news and information result from a News Corporation outlet was blocked from my Google searches, I would get a better list of results and I would not have to sort through the resulting articles as intensely, to avoid lies from New Corporation sites.

It is my sincerest hope that the powers-that-be at Google tip their hats to News Corporation, and say "It's been nice working with you, but see ya later alligator!"

I hope we all encourage Google to let News Corp. isolate itself, and I look forward to Fox being left out in the cold when bing.com goes the way of other Miscrosoft failures.

Doing the Math on News Corp.'s Threatened Google Block