Foley Represents LA Dodgers' Ownership Group in Creating New Regional TV Sports Network

Foley represented Guggenheim Baseball Management, the ownership group of the Los Angeles Dodgers, in its new television rights deal to launch SportsNet LA, a regional sports network for the franchise.

Foley also advised the Dodgers ownership group in creating American Media Productions, LLC, which owns and will operate SportsNet LA. Time Warner Cable (TWC) has agreed to be SportsNet LA’s charter distributor, and will start carrying games in the 2014 Major League Baseball season. TWC will be the exclusive advertising and affiliate sales agent for the new network and will have certain branding and programming rights. The agreement is subject to certain closing conditions.

The Foley team was led by Irwin Raij, partner and co-chair of the firm’s Sports Industry Team, and included attorneys Robert DuPuy, former president and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball, as well as Kevin Schulz, John Palmer, Christopher Rasmussen, Kathryn Agostinelli, Stephen Boyett and Tyler Parramore.

The new regional sports network and television rights deal follows on the heels of Foley’s representation of Guggenheim Baseball Management in its acquisition of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012, the single largest transaction ever for a professional sports franchise.