TV stations may consider farming out sportscasts

Is nothing sacred? Now media consolidation wants our sports news, too? The games are the same, as are the scores. Highlights and interview sound bites vary only slightly. What differentiates the sportscast on one local newscast from another—occasionally memorable enterprise features and reporting notwithstanding—is mostly the writing, the reading and the rapport of those who bring it to us. So what would happen if one station's news operation farmed out its sports segment? What if a deal was struck with, say, Comcast SportsNet to produce and deliver that part of the newscast? If such an arrangement could get past the unions, would that be an effective way to reduce costs? Or would the loss of identity, control and other potential pitfalls make it a mistake, no matter how shrewd it might initially seem? It's not as though a Chicago station is poised to make that move yet. But at least one media outfit's brainstorming sessions have yielded such a scenario. And no one in this or any other market—in broadcast or print—can afford to shrug it off.