VIACOM President and Chief Operating Officer Mel Karmazin was in deep discussions with NBA Commish David Stern at Herb Allen’s annual media mogul bash, sparking talk that he’s trying to lure the hoop action from General Electric-owned NBC to Viacom-owned CBS and its sister cable networks.
The broadcast rights are up for grabs after the 2001-2002 season. NBC was hoping to keep the NBA’s $2.6 billion price tag from increasing because ratings have been falling.
But the NBA championship pitting the Los Angeles Lakers against the Philadelphia 76ers racked up some of the strongest ratings since the Michael Jordan era ended.
Television insiders say it is unlikely CBS would make a bid for the NBA. During the NBA season – February to June – CBS’ slate is filled with college basketball, the NCAA tournament and the Masters tournament. “They just don’t have room,” said a TV exec.
Stern, normally one of the most easygoing executives at Herb Allen’s annual mogul fest showed a suddenly . . . stern side this time around.
“Could we have a little privacy?” he snapped as he and Karmazin walked and talked.
The two then retreated to the far side of the duck pond and commenced a lengthy conversation. Their only companion was a curious swan.
Said one observer, “It could be a backdoor move by Karmazin to get basketball back on CBS. At the very least, by holding the talks, he could end up costing NBC $200 million to $300 million more” to hang onto the broadcast rights, said the observer.
And Karmazin’s comment? “I don’t want to say anything.”
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Elsewhere, the economic outlook and the immediate impact of Comcast’s hostile takeover bid for AT&T were the big topics of conversation at the opening day of Allen & Co.’s mogul fest. The turmoil in the cable industry was deemed important enough for Allen to call an early morning meeting on cable.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is expected to fly in to present his case to his fellow cable execs.
But the moguls will have to rise and shine earlier than usual. It was slotted in at 6:30 a.m. – one hour before Grupo Televisa, the Mexican media giant, was slated to present. Disney CEO Michael Eisner is also slated to get his chance to explain what ABC is doing to snap out of its ratings slump, and what Disney is doing to try to boost its stock price.
Rumors are swirling that someone else may step up to the plate to battle Comcast for AT&T Broadband – or team up with Liberty Media chief John Malone. AOL Time Warner Chairman Steve Case would not rule out anything. “We try to talk to everyone,” he told The Post – but would not be more specific. One thing for sure – perennial white-water rafter Case was not making yesterday’s trip this year. Some thought it was because the unusually dry winter has meant less of a spring and summer thaw; hence the river is not as rapid as in past years. Case insisted he was going to spend the down time with his wife. Most observers think the head of the world’s largest media company is going to be working the phones and shmoozing.
Not too surprisingly, Malone, who resigned in a huff from the AT&T board Monday because he was excluded from the Comcast discussions, seemed to be the mogul of the moment. Malone skipped the opening session of the conference – an address by Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli – and instead huddled in a long breakfast meeting with his No. 2 man at Liberty, Dobb Bennett. Later, Malone was seen in deep conversation with Bennett and another ally, USA Networks boss Barry Diller. At one point Henry P. Vigil, V.P. of consumer strategy at Microsoft, wandered by to join the conversation. Malone has made no secret that he is unhappy with AT&T boss Michael Armstrong. Armstrong was a last minute scratch while Comcast’s Roberts was a last minute addition.
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New to the mogul fest scene this year was Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein. He staged his own pow wow for the media and financial elite in Santa Barbara, Calif., last March. One thing this conference has that his did not: Cathleen Black, his partner in backing Talk Magazine. She was at Allen’s meeting for the second year in a row – which means she probably will not be picking a new Redbook editor until next week.
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