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Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Raissman: Yankees put squeeze play on media at the new Stadium

It’s 1973 all over again!

The latest episode came during the weekend series with the Angels. Paul O’Neill, a revered former Yankee, now an analyst for the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network, was asked by security to leave the indoor batting cages, where he was watching Yankees hit, prior to one of the games.

A security guard told O’Neill, the man George Steinbrenner called “warrior,” he could not loiter in the area. O’Neill had another reason to be perturbed. Security would not allow his wife, Nevalee, into the Stadium “wives room.” She was told by security it was for “current” wives only.

Think about it. Here’s O’Neill, a guy who bled for the franchise, trying to prepare for a broadcast. Not only is he told to take a hike, so is his wife. O’Neill was not the only broadcaster ejected from a part of the Stadium over the weekend

Fans go berserk over Yankeegate mess

Stadium security also threatened to revoke the credential of Daily News photographer Robert Sabo, who was shooting the scene outside Gate 6 - a location photographers weren’t prohibited from working at on Opening Day.

“They were super-embarrassed and told me to go back to my position on the field or they’d take my credential,” Sabo said.

Repoz Posted: May 05, 2009 at 12:38 PM | 23 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: business, media, yankees

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1. The Essex Snead Posted: May 05, 2009 at 12:58 PM (#3164762)

In addition to this -- supposedly (if Mike & Mike In The Morning & whatever they cited is even remotely reputable) a slew of folks attending last night's game were told that the game was cancelled, and then were barred re-entry when the game started up again.

2. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: May 05, 2009 at 01:03 PM (#3164766)

Great start to the season so far.

3. villageidiom Posted: May 05, 2009 at 01:03 PM (#3164767)

I can see keeping O'Neill's wife out of the wives' room just as much as I can see them not giving a locker to O'Neill in the locker room. I can see the Angels' overflow broadcast staff being kept out of space they're not supposed to be in... The Yankees aren't responsible for making extra room for the Angels broadcast team just because they bring too many people. But this:

Network sources say they are being asked to pay the Yankees a much higher fee (about $12,000 per game) to "park and power" than they did at the old Stadium. The charge in the old building was around $3,000. The price hike is not sitting well with the networks. Some of the suits, convinced the Yankees are price-gouging, have taken their case to MLB. The situation has yet to be resolved.

Yeah, it does seem like price-gouging, if only because I have trouble believing that (a) the Yankees were losing $9,000 per game per broadcast on this across the street, or that (b) these expenses have quadrupled.

I'm all for asking customers to pay as much as they're willing to pay. But, wow.

4. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: May 05, 2009 at 01:03 PM (#3164768)

On the one hand, it's kind of a dick move by the Yankees. On the other hand, Paul O'Neill was such a petulant jackass during his entire career that on some level, I'm absolutely OK with anything bad that happens to him.

5. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: May 05, 2009 at 01:07 PM (#3164772)

I call bs

6. RB in NYC (Now with New iPhone!) Posted: May 05, 2009 at 01:12 PM (#3164778)

This is a weird mix of stuff that seems legit (keeping O'Neill's wife out of the room), stuff that seems like ######## (higher park-and-power fees) and stuff that I could kind of go either way on (kicking O'Neill out of the cage).

7. TVerik Posted: May 05, 2009 at 01:13 PM (#3164780)

The worrisome aspect of the price gouging is the "arms race" aspect of it. If the Yankees get away with charging this, other teams will also. For local broadcasters, it isn't really a problem - if they all raise their prices to match, then it'll roughly work out between home and away games. But nationals don't have "home games", so they are the ones who get the shaft.

8. Jose Can You Seabiscuit Posted: May 05, 2009 at 01:16 PM (#3164783)

I question how many people actually got told the game was called and left the park. Even the examples given in the link are a little iffy;

"We talked to the security personnel, who said there was zero chance they were going to play the game,"

That's not quite "Game called folks, go home." It's more of a conversation, "hey mac, gonna play tonight?" It's still a pretty dumb thing for the usher to say but I'd be surprised if more than a dozen people were told to leave. That sucks for them and they have a legitimate gripe but if I'm the guy who spent $800 for 4 tickets I'm making damned sure the game is called before I leave. If I'm walking out and 30,000 people aren't, I'm sticking around until there is an official announcement.

I'm with #3, I don't understand why O'Neill's wife would expect to be able to be in the wives section.

9. RB in NYC (Now with New iPhone!) Posted: May 05, 2009 at 01:17 PM (#3164785)

But nationals don't have "home games", so they are the ones who get the shaft.

Boy, I knew the crowds in DC were bad, but I still think they count as home games! (Thanks, I'll be here all week.)

You're right, but I think local broadcasters are much better off making the case. People aren't likely to get worked up by the idea that NewsCorp (Fox), TimeWarner (TBS) and Disney (ESPN) are shelling out a few extra thousand dollars.

10. TVerik Posted: May 05, 2009 at 01:22 PM (#3164792)

I just think if other locals raise their prices, it'll be essentially revenue-neutral and no one will care. I agree that the mood of the nation won't be to feel sorry for huge multinationals losing a few thousand dollars so that union guys can stand around and connect a few plugs before the game, but some egregious policy instituted by one team in order to make their balance sheet look better is worth discussing.

11. Toolsy McClutch Posted: May 05, 2009 at 01:29 PM (#3164798)

I don't know, if she's friends with a current player's wife and wanted to say Hi, I'd think it's completely reasonable for her to want to pop in. If she's expecting to grab a bite to eat there before every game I'd think it's a different story.

12. Howie Menckel Posted: May 05, 2009 at 01:35 PM (#3164801)

If Paul O'Neill really was "media," then I assume he wouldn't be able to watch at the indoor batting cages.
And he certainly couldn't do something as unprofessional as bring his wife to the game - likely on the Yankees' dime - and expect her to get into an area reserved for players' wives.
In both cases he'd be getting favors that would lead to an appearance of "owing" the Yankees something for the favors, thereby compromising his credibility with the public.

Makes more sense to think of him as a fondly-remembered ex-Yankee who dabbles by talking about the team on broadcasts, which would render the security decisions more questionable.

He's pretty obvious not a credible "media member," by his own actions.

13. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: May 05, 2009 at 01:55 PM (#3164827)

Paul O’Neill, a revered former Yankee, now an analyst for the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network, was asked by security to leave the indoor batting cages, where he was watching Yankees hit, prior to one of the games.

The water cooler in the Yankee dugout was seen to bubble with silent pleasure.

14. SoSH U at work Posted: May 05, 2009 at 02:23 PM (#3164852)

I just think if other locals raise their prices, it'll be essentially revenue-neutral and no one will care. I agree that the mood of the nation won't be to feel sorry for huge multinationals losing a few thousand dollars so that union guys can stand around and connect a few plugs before the game, but some egregious policy instituted by one team in order to make their balance sheet look better is worth discussing.

Wouldn't that only be true for team-owned broadcast outlets? If not, the broadcaster would be paying the price hikes for both home and road games (or, at least paying the increased rate on road games without benefitting from the home game situation).

15. TVerik Posted: May 05, 2009 at 02:49 PM (#3164880)

No, the broadcaster at home isn't in a production truck at all, but a permanent installation. So there's no need for "connection fees" (which is what these essentially are).

16. SoSH U at work Posted: May 05, 2009 at 02:55 PM (#3164882)

No, the broadcaster at home isn't in a production truck at all, but a permanent installation. So there's no need for "connection fees" (which is what these essentially are).

Fair enough (you'd know more about it than me), but these rules still wouldn't be revenue-neutral to broadcasters that aren't team-owned, correct? The broadcaster would still have to pick up the cost of these increased fees?

17. CW hits the pinata for the candy Posted: May 05, 2009 at 02:58 PM (#3164884)

The Yankees may be doing what nobody thought possible - getting fewer Yankees games on ESPN.

(Or maybe not.)

18. TVerik Posted: May 05, 2009 at 03:11 PM (#3164902)

The cost of televising the games, from equipment to talent, is bourne by the team (or stadium authority) in every case I can think of. We see this most of the time in team approval of the broadcast talent, but it's much deeper than that.

19. Gamingboy Posted: May 05, 2009 at 03:29 PM (#3164931)

Send all complaints to the department of Minitrue.

20. Gamingboy Posted: May 05, 2009 at 03:48 PM (#3164973)

(finishes reading the second story, which may be worthy of it's own submission)

Send all other complaints to the department of Miniluv.

21. RMc is the loyal supporter of the MLB event Posted: May 05, 2009 at 04:19 PM (#3165019)

Nevalee?

I mean, seriously? This is the name of an adult woman?

22. jacksone (AKA It's OK...) Posted: May 05, 2009 at 07:40 PM (#3165419)

My favorite name is D'Brickashaw.

23. Leroy Kincaid Posted: May 05, 2009 at 11:20 PM (#3165807)

If only security would keep O'Neill from the broadcast booth.

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Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Raissman: Yankees put squeeze play on media at the new Stadium

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