Byline: Tom Hoffarth
The billboards, bus signs, commercials and scrolls across the bottom of a screen during those Lakers telecasts try to keep the message simple:
Fox Sports West 2 is coming.
Call your cable operator.
Or call your satellite dish provider.
Or don't, and see what happens.
With the Jan. 27 launch date just more than a week away, Fox Sports West's anticipation has turned into frustration. Southern California cable operators don't seem to find any urgency to add this - or any other sports-related channel - at this time.
There are some 175 cable systems in Los Angeles, San Diego, Arizona and Hawaii that currently carry Fox Sports West, which in November changed names from Prime Sports. Of that, Fox has targeted about 150 systems that service 2-1/2 million subscribers for FSW2 because the focus will be live local coverage.
At this point, the San Fernando Valley's two largest cable operators show no signs of being on board for the start. CVI in the West Valley, which is owned by Fox rival Time Warner, and TCI in the East Valley are among the holdouts. Two biggies in the greater L.A. area - Continental and Century - are also noncommittal.
``We're somewhat baffled why the cable operators don't all seem to want this channel immediately,'' Fox Sports spokesman Vince Wladaka said, trying to launch a preemptive strike.
With the ongoing battle for cable space among sports-content channels like ESPNEWS, CNN-SI, Classic Sports, Outdoor Life and Speedworld - and some systems haven't even added ESPN2 and fX yet - Fox Sports West 2 would seem to have a heavyweight fight on its hands.
Except FSW2 feels it has a home-court advantage.
The Kings, Lakers and Angels will stay on FSW along with the Pac-10 national package. FSW2 programming will focus on:
A 40-game Dodgers package starting in April. It's the team's first non-pay cable package ever, considered to be the big ticket seller for the new channel. FSW2 will likely use Vin Scully on play-by-play.
The Ducks, Clippers, UCLA and USC, which immediately leave FSW and move next door. UCLA fans, in particular, have been vocal about not being able to watch basketball games when the team has been on fX.
A weekly high school game with Tom Kelly and Michael Cooper - the focus at this point on prep basketball heading into the playoffs. Harvard-Westlake is bound to make several appearances in the next few months.
At 4 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday, there's the seventh and eighth races live from Santa Anita. When the meeting changes, they'll go to Hollywood Park.
A weekday morning schedule that includes a simulcast of XTRA-AM's morning radio show with Steve Mason and John Ireland.
Logically, local programming should win out. Logic doesn't always navigate a cable system.
Finances are the first concern. A new channel will charge the cable system a certain fee, based on the number of subscribers. The last move a system wants to make in the public relations department is raising monthly rates. FCC regulations only allow rates to be raised once a year.
Fox Sports West has tried to sidestep that hurdle, practically offering FSW2 for free to operators just to get the ball rolling. It has also offered incentives to sign up by Jan. 27.
Channel capacity is another factor. The cable box may show a bunch of unused channels, but there's a reason. The operators may not have caught up with the technology to use them all. So most won't add a channel unless it drops another, and they can't drop a channel without a 30-day notice to the customers.
Then there's office politics.
The Time Warner-owned systems recently fell into the control of media maverick Ted Turner, and have been at odds recently with News Corp., the Rupert Murdoch-run ship that includes all the Fox Sports properties.
The marketing slogan ``call your local cable operator'' also has hot and cold effects. The campaign for a national sports channel launch might last a month or so. The cable operators' strategy has been to wait it out. As the newness of the channel wears off, viewers discover it wasn't that essential after all.
With FSW2, there will be live games nightly, year-round. The ``newness'' will never wear off.
And there's the theory that cable operators actually become so perturbed by a barrage of phone calls, they'll purposely not put on the channel. It happens.
So what makes more dollars and sense? You'll probably have to call your cable company to find out.
In case of emergency - specifically, the cable goes out - use the following information to help navigate through the black hole of local sportscasters who can, for what it's worth, come in with a decent pair of Radio Shack rabbit ears:
THE TOP 3 WHO WOULD NEVER CONFUSE THE SUPERMARKET ``GLOBE'' WITH THE BOSTON GLOBE
1. Tom Murray, KCAL-Channel 9: When he wears a press credential, it's not for access to the media buffet. A consistently hard-working, fact-finding journalist who just happens to be on television.
2. Bill Seward, KCBS-Channel 2: One of these days, he won't be thought of as the city's most overlooked sports anchor. By then, he'll be working at ESPN.
3. John Ireland, KCAL-Channel 9: There's a reason why the newcomer made the cut and long-timer Gary Cruz didn't during a recent employee evaluation by the new ownership. Ireland earns his paychecks.
THE TOP 5 WHO AT LEAST HAVE A REPUTATION AS ``NICE GUYS'' GOING FOR 'EM
1. Ed Arnold, KTLA-Channel 5: One of the few who realizes his self-importance isn't all that important.
2. Tony Hernandez, KCOP-Channel 13: Keeps re-inventing himself.
3. Rick Garcia, KTTV-Channel 11: Fox's NFL package has increased his exposure and he's making the best of it, ``90210'' sideburns and all.
4. Rory Markas, KCBS-Channel 2: This weekend gig gives him more exposure than doing Clippers games on radio.
5. Rob Fukuzaki, KABC-Channel 7: It's a shame he's the only Asian-American sports anchor in this melting pot.
THE TOP 2 WHO'VE MILKED THIS FOR ALL IT'S WORTH AND HAVE NO REASON TO LEAVE
1. Stu Nahan, KTLA Channel 5: ``Mr. Good Guy'' continues to be the model employee in the station's ``Exploit the Elderly'' program.
2. Jim Hill, KCBS-Channel 2: Don King could lure him away someday for another pay-per-view heist - maybe as a greeter for a Las Vegas hotel - but Hill can do better to stay here as something of a role model to the African-American broadcast hopefuls. Or, just find a way to do both.
THE TOP 3 MISCAST WEATHERMEN WHO SHOULD BE DOING ``STORMWATCH '97'' UPDATES
1. Fred Roggin, KNBC-Channel 4: He perfected the airborne virus that eventually created an outbreak of vidiot savants. Unfortunately, that contribution to mankind can get lost in a sea of producers, writers, technicians, video editors, makeup artists, hair stylists, tailors, dentists and accountants. Freddy actually had a chance to break free for some ``news'' reporting during the '96 Summer Games in Atlanta. As was NBC's coverage, Roggin was plausibly believable.
2. Todd Donoho, KABC-Channel 7: As if his act on ``Monday Night Live!'' doesn't expose him as a sports trivia game-show host crying out for help, he's hanging onto the Cinderella story of how Pat Sajak once took a hike from local master forecaster to ``Wheel of Fortune'' megastar.
3. Randy Kerdoon, KTTV-Channel 11: Fritz Coleman.
THE TOP 1 WE'RE HOLDING JUDGMENT ON
1. Newy Scruggs, KCOP-Channel 13: He's got a new half-hour show debuting Sunday called ``Talking About Sports'' (9:30 p.m.) The premise, like the title, is simple: Have a live guest, take phone calls, and spotlight L.A. athletes - pro, college and preps. What a novel idea.
THE TOP 2 WHO CAN NO LONGER BE TOLERATED
1. Carlos Del Valle, KNBC-Channel 4: If the new television ratings were applied to sportscasts, Del Valle's appearances would be ``TV-Y.'' As in: Why won't someone help him on the pronunciation of simple names, teams, places and things? And why does his immediate superior (F. Roggin) keep him around? Maybe to feel immediately superior?
2. Rick Lozano, KABC-Channel 7: He got into the business in a strange way. They were giving out random-priority wristbands for ``Monday Night Live,'' and he got in the wrong line. It was the one for ``Desperately Seeking Sportscaster.'' Too bad Gary Cruz, Artie Ojeda or Gary Apple aren't around to pad his fall.
THE NOT-FOR-L.A. ONLY LINEUP
Fox Sports News might be anchored in Hollywood, but it's by no means an L.A.-only tugboat. All eight Fox cable affiliates glean regional and national info from the ``SportsCenter''-type show. Because of its local sparkle and the chance to break a story relating to one of our local teams (it helps that Jim Harrick's son works there), we're all set to rank the Fox Sports Newsies, whose primary function is to narrate over the fuzzy-grade highlight tapes without getting smothered in the set decorations:
1. Craig Simpson: His slashing NHL analysis has been the surprise hit of the recently launched show.
2. Jeannie Zelasko: The one place safe from her launching into an explanation on how Kevis smothers out the male testerone that causes hair loss.
3. James Worthy: How smooth was the live interview he did last week with Lakers newcomer Robert Horry? He's worthy.
4. Alan Massengale: Always seems one sentence away from hopping on the desk and breaking out in ``On The Good Ship Lollipop.''
5. Suzy Kolber: A quick fashion tip: Before you go to New Orleans as part of Fox's Super Bowl coverage, have wardrobe burn all those Donna Karan retro-Avon lady leisure suits. Maybe they're in style, but on you, it's visually distracting and highly unflattering for someone lucky enough to escape the X-Games.
6. Dewayne Ballen: On the ball.
7. Kevin Frazier: Jim Rome's former fX sidekick has a nice presence.
8. Ken Walls: Played Jack Palance's stunt double in ``City Slickers 2.''
9. Randy Sparage: He's cut down on his Poor Boy sandwiches. He's still the poor man's Chris Berman.
10. Tom Kirkland: Like the Borg in ``Star Trek,'' resistence to him is futile. But it's absolutely necessary.
This is the second of a four-part annual ratings of the best and worst of L.A. sports media. Next week: The play-by-play broadcasters.
CAPTION(S):
Box
Box: THE 4TH ANNUAL BEST AND WORST OF THE L.A. SPORTS MEDIA (see text)
