Fox Sports, LA Dodgers reach settlement

Los Angeles Dodgers will not market its media rights beyond 2013 as part of lawsuit settlement with Fox Sports.

According to the settlement filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, the Dodgers have agreed to abandon the proposed auction of its media rights, the sale of which would have violated the terms of its current contract with Fox’s Prime Ticket affiliate. In exchange, Fox agreed to withdraw its objection to the settlement between MLB and outgoing Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, thereby removing the final impediment to the sale of the franchise. Fox also retained the right to challenge the sale of the team to Time Warner Cable.

Fox’s Prime Ticket will continue to broadcast Dodgers games through the 2013 season. At the close of the 2012 MLB season, the Dodgers will honor Fox’s exclusive 45-day negotiating window. If Fox had lost its exclusivity, Time Warner Cable was poised to swoop in with a competitive bid.

Fox, a unit of News Corp, had persuaded a judge to temporarily halt the team's plan to sell the media rights to games starting in 2014 - rights that were expected to be worth billions. The Dodgers, which have been in bankruptcy since June, wanted to sell the rights to future games as a way to boost the value of the team before it goes up for sale on Jan. 23.