Advertisement

The Morning Fix: Charlie Sheen speaks! Time Warner Cable and Lakers dunk on Fox and KCAL. More Disney exits.

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

After the coffee. Before wondering why I don’t have an endorsement deal yet.

The Skinny: It’s a sports-heavy Morning Fix. Time Warner Cable did a deal with the Lakers. ESPN’s on-air talent is raising eyebrows with their endorsement deals. Lastly, Charlie Sheen went on Dan Patrick’s sports talk radio show to discuss baseball and proclaim himself ready to return to ‘Two and a Half Men.’

Advertisement

Time Warner Cable steals the ball. Time Warner Cable, which in the past has often griped about the high cost of carrying sports channels, has decided if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. The pay-TV distributor has struck a big deal with the Los Angeles Lakers to create not one but two new regional sports networks in Los Angeles, using the world champs as the backbone. The move is a big setback for Fox Sports West and KCAL-TV Los Angeles, the two current rights holders for the Lakers. The as-yet-unnamed channels will launch in 2012 and could result in higher cable bills for consumers. Details and analysis from the Los Angeles Times, Sports Business Journal and Variety.

More exits at Disney. The shakeups continued at Walt Disney Studios, with Bruce Hendricks, president of physical production, leaving and Marcia Ross, the longtime head of casting, also on the way out. The moves are part of Disney’s overall strategy to make fewer movies. Details from the Hollywood Reporter.

If the shoe fits. Apparently, being on-air talent at ESPN is a ticket to a sneaker deal. The New York Times looks into the surprising number of ESPN broadcasters and commentators with shoe deals, a few of which the network itself knew nothing about. Of course, ex-jocks having commercial deals is kind of dog-bites-man. Still, given the cozy relationship between sneaker companies and athletes, ESPN might want to take a look at whether those deals have the potential to give the wrong idea about its news coverage.

Charlie’s ready! Charlie Sheen went on Dan Patrick’s national radio show Monday morning to talk baseball, but it wasn’t long before the star of CBS’ ‘Two and a Half Men’ was talking about himself. Sheen said he’s ready to work and that it’s CBS and Warner Bros. that need to get their act together. As for recent incidents that have led production of the show to be shut down, Sheen says he heals quickly. Of course, he also noted that he unravels pretty fast too. Perhaps it is his tendency lately to unravel that may have the folks making the show wanting more than a quick fix from Sheen. Here’s the full interview from Dan Patrick and analysis of the Sheen situation from Variety.

Public-radio potty mouths. Swear words on some rock or hip-hop radio station are par for the course -- but on public-radio coverage of an opera? Seems that’s how opera singers roll. More on the foul-mouthed sopranos from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Three members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences talk about their Oscars votes.

Advertisement

-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter. It’s more exciting than the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. twitter.com/JBFlint

Advertisement