Game 3 TV saga takes another turn

Update, 9:06 p.m.
Some parts of the Tampa Bay area will see tonight’s Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final after all. But some will remain shut out.

With the Lightning working feverishly all day Friday to broker a deal between NBC, the NHL and a local carrier, the final result is that tonight’s Ottawa-Anaheim game will be shown on Bright House Network’s Catch 47 and WFLA-Ch. 8’s high definition channel. But those who don’t get Bright House Networks cable or have HDTV will not see the game.

NBC is showing the game nationally, but the local NBC affiliate (WFLA-Ch. 8) could not carry the game because it is showing its annual All Children’s Hospital telethon from 8:30 tonight until 6 p.m. Sunday. Tonight’s Game 3 is scheduled for 8.

Update, 7:02 p.m.
Sinclair Broadcasting, parent company of WTTA-Channel 38, decided Friday night it would not allow the station to carry Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks. The Lightning, NHL officials and NBC resumed seeking another outlet.

Original post
Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final will be shown on television in Tampa Bay after all.

The Lightning brokered a deal Friday afternoon to have the game be shown on WTTA-Channel 38. The game is being broadcast by NBC, but WFLA-Channel 8, the local NBC affiliate, could not carry the game because it is carrying its annual All Children's Hospital telethon.

It's believed the Lightning is spending $20,000 to buy up all the local advertising time so that Ch. 38 would agree to show the game. Channel 38 is channel 6 on Bright House Networks cable systems and channel 14 on Verizon.

"Obviously, we think hockey is spectacular and the Stanley Cup final is hockey at its very best,'' Lightning president Ron Campbell, the key player in the deal, said. "We have no hard feelings toward Channel 8 because we know they have their important obligations. We're just glad that we could find a home for this game so that people in Tampa Bay can watch the game.''

-- Tom Jones

Payroll going down

Not right away but next season if the team doesn't make significant inroads in the playoffs. Team president Ron Campbell said ownership has approved a payroll of $40-million. That is $2-million less than this season's current cap number of $42-million. It is $4-million less than the current league-wide cap. How much less it will be than next season's cap will be determined after the league calculates this season's revenues and sets a new bar.

Campbell said the $40-million number allows the team to keep its star players but also run the business more responsibly. Campbell estimates without a playoff run this season, Palace Sports & Entertainment, the Lightning's parent company, will lose $9-million on its entire Tampa operation.

Even so, there are no plans, Campbell said, to cut salary this season, and the team is looking for ways to improve as it strives to get to the playoffs. The equation changes, of course, if the teammakes a deep playoff run. Then, Campell said, things can be reassessed.

Campbell said the team is not for sale but it cannot sustain such losses. Campbell said the only year the company turned a profit in the city was the 2004 Cup season when it made $3.8-million.

Hey, at least it won't be a fire sale at the trade deadline.