Fox's biggest fan: Sports Net President Tracy Dolgin revamps programming to give cable network a sharper identity in ever-costlier industry. (People).FOX Sports Net President Tracy Dolgin likes to say that he ended up in his current position by "pure blind luck." But Dolgin has earned his stripes. After stints at Atari, General Foods and HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy , Dolgin was hired by Fox in 1993 to run marketing for the fledgling television network. Later, he was tapped to launch the company's cable sports ventures, which, in L.A., now include two channels -- Fox Sports West and Fox Sports West 2 -- that carry the Dodgers, Lakers See Lake poets , Kings and Angels. But like ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network , Fox Sports Net is being hit by the escalating costs of airing pro games, as well as the challenge of keeping viewers tuned in after the games are oven Dolgin is trying to retool re·tool v. re·tooled, re·tool·ing, re·tools v.tr. 1. To fit out (a factory, for example) with a new set of machinery and tools for making a different product. 2. their programming for "the moderate fan." Question: There's been a huge investment by Fox in Fox Sports Net. Is it paying off? Answer: We're making money. There's no question about it, and it's really a great asset. It was the foundation for creating this whole cable group. It was really the driver for Fox's entry into cable. We have really changed the playing field and created these local powerhouses where you actually watch sports more than just during a game. I think the formula -- sports entertainment Sports entertainment is a type of of entertainment that takes the form of a sporting event, but with more emphasis on dramatic storylines, humor, spectacle or titillation than on a contest of athletic skills. for the moderate sports fan -- is gaining some traction. Q: Initially, did you set out to be another ESPN? A: What we did looking back was a mistake. The ESPN model was very simple. It's a national network based on creating news and information programming and events about sports. Advertisers were begging us to go in there and put a competitor against ESPN. What they wanted was an alternative to Sports Center, so they could get the rates down and so that they could extend their reach to a hard-to-reach audience. We said we'll take the Fox brand and we'll put it on there and we will try to create high-quality programming and up the quality of the game production. Q: So what did you do wrong? A: We tried to produce programming that already existed. And the way that Fox got into the sports business was sports as entertainment. We forgot the lesson. We created programming that really was an imitation of ESPN programming. Q: You couldn't compete with ESPN like that? A: We got fairly good ratings, but our programming didn't match our brand and that catches up with you after a while. If you try to do it exactly the same way, you're always going to be Avis to their Hertz. You're always going to be the second choice. Q: So how did Fox Sports address that problem? A: We did a big research study because I was just thinking this is not the right way to go. I'd rather be the first choice to some people than the second choice to everybody. As an old brand guy, it was just bugging me. So in the study we found out that the opportunity for the Fox Sports brand was being unrealized. People who were moderate sports fans accounted for 62 percent of total viewing of sports on TV. And their favorite thing to watch was home games. Q: But how has the rising cost of local and national broadcasting rights affected your business? A: You have to take a long-term look at it. We have, in general, long-term contracts with all of our teams. The average length of our deals is over six years. So as rates go up, they don't all go up at once. And obviously, what's happened in the economy in the last year has moderated people's belief in what the value of those rights are. Ad revenues took a hit last year and there has been an adjustment in the value of sports rights -- in the idea that rates would be going up and up infinitely. Q: Does having the rights to numerous teams in numerous markets allow you to spread the risk? A: Yes, we're like a mutual fund. You have to take more of a portfolio approach than betting on a particular team. So, if the Dodgers are having a bad year, maybe the Lakers and the Clippers are up. It gives us some protection. Q: How much has the ad slump hurt? A: More of our revenue comes from (cable) affiliate fees than ad revenues, but when ad revenues go down like they did, it knocks you down a peg. We're profitable, but we had to go through some cost cutting to get where we wanted to be. It was a tough year and when you have a bad year, it definitely gives you pause when you negotiate your next contract. But we had 10 years of growth before that and maybe we'll have 10 more now. Things seem to be improving somewhat. Q: Let's talk about 'The Best Damn Sports Show, Period." It's been a hit for Fox Sports Net, but it's also been the target of criticism due to the antics of the hosts. A: It's the signature show for the direction we are going. People love it and it's really being talked about. The athletes love it. It's their show, it's their kind of attitude. It's the poster child for our brand. It feels like you're overhearing a bunch of guys A Bunch of Guys (BOGs), or Group of Guys (GOGs) are terms used by counter-terrorism officials to refer to small, self-organizing terrorist cells.[1] BOGs typically have little to no contact with global terrorist groups like al Qaeda, so they independently plan and at a bar that you really want to hang out with. Q: What would you say to those who complain that the show is another example of Fox appealing to the lowest common denominator low·est common denominator n. 1. See least common denominator. 2. a. The most basic, least sophisticated level of taste, sensibility, or opinion among a group of people. b. ? A: That's the TV business, isn't it? If you do something that's different, some people are going to like it and purists and traditionalists aren't going to like it. It goes back to my overriding philosophy: I would rather produce a show that is the favorite show for a percentage of the audience than being just an OK show for the entire audience. Q: What other type of non-traditional sports programming do you have on tap? A: We have looked at, I would say, a dozen new kinds of shows that have never been done before. I can't tell what they are because they are in development and I don't want somebody to take the idea before it's on the air. But there are some reality shows, some non-reality based stuff, something more like a network would do in terms of comedy or drama. Q: Fox has lost John Madden to "Monday Night Football “MNF” redirects here. For other uses, see MNF (disambiguation). Monday Night Football (MNF) is a live television broadcast of the National Football League. " and Jim Rome James "Jim" Rome (born October 14, 1964) is an American sports radio talk show host syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications. Broadcasting from a studio near Los Angeles, California, he hosts The Jim Rome Show has announced he'll give up "The Last Word" at the end of the year. How much will losing them hurt? A: We're talking about a weekly show with (Jim Rome), so he's still here. John was really important for the credibility when he started at the network and he did an amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. job. Nobody's better than John, but football is the number one game and the credibility is there. If you still have the best matchup, will (losing Madden) make a difference in the ratings? I don't think so. Q: Landing the NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga was huge for Fox and for you personally. How did that come about? A: The NFL didn't really want to take our money for our bid. They weren't trusting that Fox was in the same league as CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. or NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. or ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. , and it really wasn't. But we put a presentation together that convinced them that they needed us more than we needed them. They were losing all their young viewers and Fox stood for edgy, hip young, urban -- all the audience that the NFL was losing. Q: You've said that you set out to "Foxize" football. What does that mean? A: We vowed to treat sports as entertainment instead of treating sports as religion. Nobody remembers but up until that point ESPN wasn't doing funny commercials. There was no attitude. It was very serious stuff. Q: Explain how Fox has changed the concept of regional sports networks In the United States of America, a Regional Sports Network, or RSN, is a cable television station that presents sports programming to a local market. The most important programming on an RSN consists of live broadcasts of professional and college sporting events, as those games . A: Regional sports networks are incredibly valuable assets, but (six years ago) they weren't. They were places where they showed games, but there was nothing else on. You'd watch the Lakers and then it would be beach volleyball For the ball used in this sport, see . Beach volleyball is an Olympic team sport played on sand. Two teams, positioned on either side of a net which divides a rectangular court, hit a volleyball, usually using the hands or arms. , or inline skating, or whatever. It was just a holder on the dial to put pro games. Q: How has the regional nightly sports news show been received in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. ? A: The ratings are pretty good and they improved when we moved the show to 10 p.m. Over the last three or four months I think we've really started to find a good place. L.A., I think the biggest move is moving our news operation to Staples Center This article has multiple issues: * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. . And I think the show has been 50 percent improved since the day it started there because now you have the energy of all the people standing outside the window, like the "Today" show. RELATED ARTICLE: INTERVIEW Tracy Dolgin Title: President Organization: Fox Sports Net Born: Chicago, 1959 Education: Bachelor of Science Noun 1. Bachelor of Science - a bachelor's degree in science BS, SB bachelor's degree, baccalaureate - an academic degree conferred on someone who has successfully completed undergraduate studies in Industrial Labor Relations, Cornell University Cornell University, mainly at Ithaca, N.Y.; with land-grant, state, and private support; coeducational; chartered 1865, opened 1868. It was named for Ezra Cornell, who donated $500,000 and a tract of land. With the help of state senator Andrew D. ; Masters Business Administration, Stanford University Stanford University, at Stanford, Calif.; coeducational; chartered 1885, opened 1891 as Leland Stanford Junior Univ. (still the legal name). The original campus was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. David Starr Jordan was its first president. Career Turning Point: Getting NFL contract for Fox and moving to sports from entertainment side of company. Most Admired Person: His mother, who worked and raised two children on her own Personal: Married; two daughters, one son. |
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