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Sports Watch
MIKE Rosenberg, president and general manager of KITV, doesn't want to be viewed as the bad guy, the Grinch Who Stole Monday Night Football. KITV’s Rosenberg
takes a standBut he's putting on a goal-line stand on what has been a money-losing proposition for his television station.
In other words, no more watching Monday Night Football satellite live in the restaurants and bars near you.
Or homes, for that matter, although the latter will definitely be difficult to enforce.
KITV has been televising MNF on a tape-delayed basis at 6:30 p.m., often starting when the game has been long over.
Thus, football fans who don't want to observe close-your-eyes time made it a practice of going to establishments with liquor licenses to see the National Football League games live as it happens.
KITV, which owns the local copyright to MNF, has sent out letters to every venue with a liquor license that it will no longer tolerate such practices.
It'll pursue legal action to end showing the games on live satellite. It has hired Goodenow Associates Inc., a Honolulu investigation company, to track violations.
Why now, after all these years, Rosenberg was asked.
"We just got fed up with it. We have reached the end of our rope," he said.
But money was the real bottom line.
Two years ago, ABC asked all of its affiliates to share in the network's cost of the football package with the NFL.
KITV's share was $250,000.
"Here I am, sitting here and bringing Monday Night Football in Hawaii and it's costing me $250,000," Rosenberg said.
Obviously, it was a lose-lose situation for his station, according to Rosenberg, now in his fifth year at KITV after 12 years with KHON-TV.
KITV once tried a similar action several years ago, but gave it up.
"We got bombarded by the beer companies," Rosenberg said. "It could happen again. But we're willing to live with that. I'd rather be compensated."
A drop in ratings with more viewers turning to other stations because they've already watched the game at some bar is damaging enough, he said.
ROSENBERG feels by stopping the practice - which is against the law in the first place, he says - KITV can improve its Monday ratings, which translates into increased ad revenue as well.
There's also that quarter-million dollar operating cost to take into consideration, he added.
"We're not trying to kill anybody," said Rosenberg, who feels some kind of a compromise can still be worked out with the various business premises that want to air Monday Night Football live.
He is asking ABC and the NFL if it's possible to pursue charging license fees to establishments for the right to show the games satellite live.
"I hope to hear from them early next week. But I'm not overly optimistic," Rosenberg said.
He has had a number of establishments already calling him if they can compensate his station in some way.
"The important thing is that charging a license fee was not the idea the whole time from the beginning," Rosenberg said.
"Some people might think that. But that was not the reason why we opened the can of worms."
It's not only the bars and restaurants that are affected.
Oahu and Waialae country clubs also bring in Monday Night Football via satellite live for their members.
"I already got some crap for that," said Rosenberg, a member at Oahu Country Club.
Bill Kwon has been writing about
sports for the Star-Bulletin since 1959.