Dodgers and Fox Reach Agreement

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The Dodgers have agreed to honor their existing contract with Fox, dropping their attempt to accelerate a sale of the current TV rights to the highest bidder, according to Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times. This ends the legal hostilities between the Dodgers and Fox, clearing the way for the sale to be finished by April 30.

L.A. Times-Dodgers, Fox settlement

The settlement will allow the Dodgers to focus completely on the sale process. Both the Dodgers and Fox have agreed to drop their respective cases. The current TV contract with FOX runs through 2013. The new owner could launch his own Dodger cable channel, or create a bidding war between Fox and Time Warner.

The Dodgers and Fox both agreed to drop their lawsuits against each other, Fox also agreed to drop their damage claims against the Dodgers. Fox still made Frank McCourt re-pay a 30 million dollar loan they gave him so he could make payroll last year, so ha! On that I say. Fun to see Fox sticking it to Frank. Fox still retains the right to challenge any or part of the sale of the team to Time Warner Cable.

This should mean smoother sailing towards a quicker sale process since all the opposing litigation is over. (hopefully) The deadline for bids to be submitted is January 23. The Dodgers must be sold by April 30. We have also learned that the winning bidder will be announced April 1. So we will know before opening day, who will be the next Dodger owner. Just 81 days from now. We will keep you informed on the ongoing sale process as it unfolds.