The Chinese Professional Baseball League is reeling from a series of scandals and feuding over TV contracts that have rocked the sport in recent weeks, resulting in the resignation of the league’s commissioner and disrupting the broadcasting of games.
The in-fighting among the league’s four clubs and perceived mismanagement by officials have many CPBL fans up in arms and withdrawing their support for the league in droves because the games have not been broadcast on cable.
Former CPBL commissioner Hwang Jenn-tai (黃鎮台) resigned on July 25 to take responsibility for the row over the TV broadcasting rights for league games and several other problems, and the post has been vacant since then.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
All the league’s troubles came after the new season started off on a high note, when the league signed a lucrative contract with MP & Silva, an international company specializing in the management and distribution of sport media rights. Under the NT$2.142 billion (US$70.48 million) six-year contract, each club stood to receive NT$89.25 million annually in rights revenue.
At the time of the deal’s signing, MP & Silva representative Cho Su-hyeon said: “We are confident that we can expand the baseball market in Taiwan. Our plan is to promote CPBL games in Japan, South Korea and China.”
However, the partnership went sour as the season progressed, amid questions about the soundness of the deal. Some team owners complained of potential pitfalls, while others contended that MP & Silva was not meeting its financial obligations.
The tension surrounding the deal boiled over on April 30, when several pages of the contract were leaked to Chinese-language weekly Next Magazine, further fueling discontent with the deal.
The fatal blow came on July 19, when MP & Silva announced that it had unilaterally terminated the contract, saying that the CPBL had violated certain terms of the deal and that it therefore had a legal basis on which to end the partnership.
The cancelation of the deal left the league facing a financial shortfall and sparked a wild scramble among rival television networks like FTV, Videoland, Fox Sports and cSKY Sports to secure broadcasting rights for rest of the season’s games.
Further complicating matters was a separate deal cSKY Sports had with MP & Silva.
The scrapping of the contract with the league left the TV channel out in the cold and it is now threatening to sue the CPBL, while the league is contemplating filing a lawsuit against MP & Silva.
After weeks of negotiation, the four league clubs agreed for the first time to go their separate ways on TV broadcasting.
The Uni-President Lions announced this week that they will go with Fox Sports for their home game broadcasts, while the Chinatrust Brothers and EDA Rhinos said they will collaborate with Videoland and the Lamigo Monkeys have yet to announce their decision.
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland to push their NBA-best record to 37-8. The Thunder, surprised by the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, fended off a late surge from the Trail Blazers to snap their four-game winning streak. Jalen Williams scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe added 16 off the bench. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, back after a five-game absence with a calf injury, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a big block. The Western Conference leaders were under pressure late as Portland, trailing by 15 heading
Sumo is walking a “tightrope” as it prepares to stage events outside Japan for the first time in 20 years while also trying to preserve its ancient traditions, experts say. The sport is to hold exhibition tournaments in London in October and in Paris in June next year, the first time the Japan Sumo Association has been abroad since Las Vegas in 2005. Sports such as soccer, baseball and football play domestic games overseas in a bid to gain new fans in emerging markets. John Gunning, a former amateur sumo wrestler who commentates on the sport in English on Japanese television, says its
Cole Perfetti on Friday scored three goals for his first NHL hat-trick as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Utah Hockey Club 5-2. Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and two assists to reach 500 points for his career, while David Gustafsson also scored for Winnipeg. Connor Hellebuyck had 17 saves. Barrett Hayton and Nick Schmaltz scored for Utah, while Connor Ingram stopped 25 shots. Perfetti gave Winnipeg a 3-2 lead when he lifted the puck over a fallen Ingram on a pass from Vladislav Namestnikov 5 minutes, 51 seconds into the third period. Ehlers stole the puck at his own blue line and raced down
RSS