12/21/24
February 11, 2004
Ducks & Flyers Under One Roof?: With the potential blockbuster merger of cable giant Comcast and global giant the Walt Disney Co., one of the factors during today's discussions has been overlooked and could provide for some interesting debate down the line: A merger would put the Philadelphia Flyers and Anaheim Mighty Ducks on the same company payroll...
[perpetually skeptical of big business] ditto! I wish I knew what the NHL ramifications could be. But if Fedorov ends up a Flyer for a bag of pucks, I think we'll know where to start.
posted by garfield at 03:22 PM on February 11, 2004
no fan of big business either, but think about it. the flyers probably make comcast some money, no matter what the flyers say their bottom line is. the ducks dont make anyone money. so comcast unloads them, and they move to a city that appreciates hockey. not too bad. im not sure the nhl would let one owner own two teams anyway, so they might well be forced to sell, and that in turn might mean a pretty good price for the buyer.
posted by owl at 03:37 PM on February 11, 2004
You mean you don't like the Philaheim Mighty Flyin' Ducks?
posted by worldcup2002 at 04:16 PM on February 11, 2004
If this goes through and you have ESPN on something other than Comcast cable, prepare for a rate hike.
posted by yerfatma at 04:21 PM on February 11, 2004
Anadelphia Flucks.
posted by jerseygirl at 04:21 PM on February 11, 2004
Yerfatma, The rate hike is coming anyway...ESPN has been strong arming cable co's for more money. They are currently in court with Cox about it. Talk of moving them out of basic cable and into the premium tiers, stuff like that.
posted by pivo at 06:44 PM on February 11, 2004
Hasn't Disney already put the Ducks up for sale? Which would be independent of this potential deal of course. Still, if half the MLS teams can be owned by Anschutz, why should the NHL quibble about two teams in one set of hands?
posted by billsaysthis at 07:22 PM on February 11, 2004
Or maybe this is one step towards the 'inevitable' consolidation as we discussed in another thread yesterday.
posted by billsaysthis at 07:22 PM on February 11, 2004
besides the sports implications, i really am opposed to this potential [hostile] purchase by comcast. i dont like it when any company gets that big and in their hands in too many venues. i hated the AOL/TimeWarner merger. i'm hoping this gets shot down by the FCC and fast.