GeorgeF
Hypercell = Hyperhook!
FEBRUARY 24, 2004 BJI SPECIAL REPORT
Because of breaking news, we bring you this unscheduled news update of interest to both the business and the sport.
WHAT NOW, PWBA?
In a surprising announcement, Steve Sanders of Pinacle Events Inc. has revealed that he will NOT be taking over the Professional Women's Bowling Association as previously planned. "We have been forced to curtail our efforts to purchase the PWBA from John Sommers," said Sanders, moments before he broke the news in a blanket media email. "We were not able to negotiate an ESPN contract that was acceptable to me in relation to my goals of promoting a Women's Tour. As a result, we have decided to no longer pursue the purchase of the PWBA."
Where does this leave the PWBA? In sports limbo, essentially. However, Sanders also revealed that Leah Buhl, Director of Programming for ESPN, did tell him that her network had "other alternatives" in pursuing televised professional women's bowling.
Sanders is BJI's featured Up Close interview in its March edition, and revealed at that time that a viable media package -- presumably with ESPN -- was vital to his plans of going ahead with the acquisition of the PWBA property. He also revealed that he essentially had an agreement in principle to acquire the PWBA, but that it was contingent on negotiating the TV rights on a level as in the past.
Why did things go wrong? Sanders had no specific answers, except that ESPN raised the bar in its negotiations with the "new" PWBA.
BJI's Jim Dressel snagged an exclusive interview with Sanders moments before he notified bowling's press corps of his intentions. We will be running excerpts from that interview in Thursday's Cyber Report, and run the full Q&A exchange in our April edition.
Because of breaking news, we bring you this unscheduled news update of interest to both the business and the sport.
WHAT NOW, PWBA?
In a surprising announcement, Steve Sanders of Pinacle Events Inc. has revealed that he will NOT be taking over the Professional Women's Bowling Association as previously planned. "We have been forced to curtail our efforts to purchase the PWBA from John Sommers," said Sanders, moments before he broke the news in a blanket media email. "We were not able to negotiate an ESPN contract that was acceptable to me in relation to my goals of promoting a Women's Tour. As a result, we have decided to no longer pursue the purchase of the PWBA."
Where does this leave the PWBA? In sports limbo, essentially. However, Sanders also revealed that Leah Buhl, Director of Programming for ESPN, did tell him that her network had "other alternatives" in pursuing televised professional women's bowling.
Sanders is BJI's featured Up Close interview in its March edition, and revealed at that time that a viable media package -- presumably with ESPN -- was vital to his plans of going ahead with the acquisition of the PWBA property. He also revealed that he essentially had an agreement in principle to acquire the PWBA, but that it was contingent on negotiating the TV rights on a level as in the past.
Why did things go wrong? Sanders had no specific answers, except that ESPN raised the bar in its negotiations with the "new" PWBA.
BJI's Jim Dressel snagged an exclusive interview with Sanders moments before he notified bowling's press corps of his intentions. We will be running excerpts from that interview in Thursday's Cyber Report, and run the full Q&A exchange in our April edition.
