Three months after announcing the summer launch of Aspire, a new African-American-targeted Comcast network intended to compete with BET, the cable channel has found a general manager.
GMC TV SVP and general counsel Paul Butler joins the new network, where he'll oversee all operations and report directly to network chairman Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
"We conducted an extensive search for the right person to lead ASPiRE and found that he was right here all along and already on the GMC team," said the former L.A. Laker. "Paul has a long track record of success with GMC with a wide range of responsibility and oversight. With his background and the fact that he was heavily involved in GMC’s tremendous growth, Paul is definitely ready to hit the ground running to ensure a successful launch and a great future for the network.”
Butler's former employer, GMC president and CEO Charley Humbard, echoed Johnson's words for his hire, speaking out about Butler's tenure at the network.
"I have worked closely with Paul for six years and in that time he has thoroughly impressed me with his leadership skills, forward-thinking and ability to develop smart solutions to critical issues," said Humbard. "He is very impressive as a business and creative executive. There is no question that Paul is an ideal choice to lead ASPiRE to great heights.”
Butler, who previously worked at VH1, will help craft a lineup of original shows, movies and documentaries for the Aspire, which is scheduled to launch in June. At the time of the network announcement, Johnson also noted that he wanted to open up opportunities for African-American actors, directors and producers.
When the Dodgers returned to the clubhouse on Friday after their off day, they all had a nice surprise waiting for them at their lockers. New ownership partner Magic Johnson signed and personalized one of his Lakers jerseys for everyone.
Tony Gwynn Jr. is the biggest Lakers fan in the clubhouse, evident by his smile above. Did Gwynn have any plans for where to display his new prized possession?
"It can go anywhere. I can put it in my car and post it up in the back seat if I wanted to," Gwynn joked. "But I'll find a nice place for it."
Unlike teammates Matt Kemp or Dee Gordon, Gwynn doesn't harbor any delusions about his basketball ability, though he wants to challenge Magic to a 1-on-1 game for another reason.
"I'm not that stupid. I don't think I'm that good," Gwynn said. "But I would challenge him just for the sake of seeing him play in person, but not for any type of bragging rights because I know I'd probably get my butt kicked."
Mattingly got a jersey as well, and the lifelong Larry Bird fan joked that he would switch allegiances to Magic since he never got a jersey from Bird. Though Mattingly did say he has a pair of green Converse Larry Bird high-top shoes that he bought at an auction.
TrueBlueLA.com
A noticeable buzz could be felt throughout Dodger Stadium on Monday night as the Dodgers played their first home game under Guggenheim Baseball Management, defeating the Giants, 9-1.
Television cameras lined the third-base foul line before the game, photographers snapped shots of the day's events and fans cheered as they filtered in to watch the Dodgers take on the Giants in the series opener.
To mark the special occasion, Magic Johnson, one of the team's new owners, esc
In a scene reminiscent of Joe Torre's arrival as manager in 2008, Mark Walter, Stan Kasten and Magic Johnson -- with the 6-foot-9 Johnson prominent in his height, stardom and personality -- walked the distance of the field at Dodger Stadium to open a news conference Wednesday introducing them as the new owners of the Dodgers.
As they reached the dais in center field, Dodgers greats Don Newcombe, Tommy Lasorda, Maury Wills, Steve Garvey, Ron Cey and Tommy Davis, on hand and wearing Dodgers jerseys, were greeted warmly by Johnson before legendary broadcaster Vin Scully and mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke.
"It's time to meet the group that will bring the Dodgers higher than the Sistine Chapel," Scully said.
After brief comments by Walter, who will be the controlling partner, Johnson took the stage and entertained in a pep-rally style and repeatedly praised Peter O'Malley, whose family owned the Dodgers for 48 years. Guggenheim Baseball Management is the third owner of the team since O'Malley, who was in attendance, sold it in 1998.
"We don't have to reinvent the wheel, we just have to go back to where you had it before," Johnson said, promising that the new bosses will work "tirelessly" to improve the franchise.
"We committed, the three of us, to build a championship organization, a winning team from top to bottom," said Kasten, a former executive of the Braves, Nationals and the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. "Player development. It was pioneered by the Dodgers, going back to Brooklyn. That's the tradition we're going to continue."
The sale of the team, the stadium and land surrounding it became official on Tuesday as the group closed its $2 billion purchase, ending the eight-year ownership of Frank McCourt.
In addition to Walter, CEO of Guggenheim Partners; Kasten, who will be team president and CEO; and Johnson, a part-owner who will have a public role, the investor group includes Mandalay Entertainment chairman Peter Guber, Guggenheim Partners president Todd Boehly and Texas energy investor Bobby Patton.
Walter, Kasten and Johnson repeatedly mentioned "Dodger pride."
"We envy and admire it," Kasten said.
"As much as this is a big day for us, [and] we're very, very happy to be here, this is not about us," Walter said. "This is about the Dodgers. one of the most honored and storied franchises in history ... we are passionate about making this organization the best that it can be from every respect, from winning, from its relationship with the community, from all the philanthropic and other things that it can be a platform to help with.
"We know this is going to be hard work. And we also know it's going to take time ... but I promise you this commitment to work will be a labor of love."
Guggenheim paid an additional $150 million for a 50-percent interest in the property surrounding Chavez Ravine and the stadium parking lots, in a joint venture with McCourt.
The purchase, announced March 27, was the key element in the Dodgers' emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. McCourt filed for bankruptcy last June when he couldn't meet player payroll or pay bills after MLB Commissioner Bud Selig declined to approve a $3 billion agreement between FOX and the Dodgers to extend their television broadcast rights.
The Guggenheim group was one of three final bidders in an auction run by Blackstone Advisory Partners on behalf of McCourt -- the winning group of Guggenheim, Johnson and Kasten; one that included billionaires Steven Cohen and Patrick Soon-Shiong and agent Arn Tellem; and Stan Kroenke, owner of the St. Louis Rams.
The McCourts bought the Dodgers in 2004 from News Corp. for a net purchase price of $371 million. With the $2 billion for the team and stadium, plus $300 million for the surrounding land and parking lots, including the $150 million worth of land contributed by McCourt, the selling price is a total of $2.3 billion, just shy of $2 billion in appreciation in eight years.
Under McCourt's ownership, the Dodgers reached the postseason four times in eight seasons; he invested, according to the club, $150 million in improvements of 50-year-old Dodger Stadium; and he moved Spring Training from venerable Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla., to Camelback Ranch-Glendale in Arizona. He also established the Dodgers Dream Foundation that refurbished dozens of youth baseball fields and established ThinkCure in partnership with City of Hope and Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles to raise money for a cancer cure.
However, McCourt's tenure also saw missteps, including alienating the fan base by what MLB estimated in court documents to be a $190 million "looting" of Dodgers equity to fund an extravagant lifestyle. He and Jamie McCourt also became entangled in one of the most costly and publicized divorces in California history.
Frank McCourt surrendered ownership of the Dodgers on Tuesday, closing a turbulent chapter in the history of one of baseball’s most historic franchises. The new owners wired the final payment on the record $2.15-billion purchase price on Tuesday, closing the transaction that ended the McCourt era...
The new ownership group, fronted by Magic Johnson and incoming Dodgers President Stan Kasten, is expected to hold its first news conference on Wednesday. Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter, who arranged the financing as chief executive of Chicago-based Guggenheim Financial, is expected to make a rare public appearance at the news conference.
The new ownership will be charged with returning the Dodgers to the World Series for the first time since 1988. Every other team in the National League West has played in the World Series since then.
No major changes to the team are expected immediately. The Dodgers’ executive departures Tuesday included McCourt and two of his closest lieutenants, vice chairman Jeff Ingram and senior vice president Howard Sunkin.
Kasten, the former president of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, is expected to evaluate the Dodgers’ front-office personnel before considering additional changes. General Manager Ned Colletti remains in place.
Colletti and McCourt signed the Dodgers’ best position player, outfielder Matt Kemp, to an eight-year, $160-million contract extension last winter. Colletti also has said he would like to sign outfielder Andre Ethier to an extension.
Colletti met with Ethier’s agent at Dodger Stadium on Friday, but it is unclear if a deal might be in the works. Ethier, who is second behind Kemp for the league lead in runs batted in, can file for free agency after the season.
McCourt’s eight-year run included the highs of the Dodgers’ first consecutive National League championship appearances in 31 years and the lows of a failed strategy to retain ownership by taking the storied team into bankruptcy.
In the end, McCourt won, at least financially. No baseball team had sold for even $1 billion, yet McCourt is expected to clear close to that amount in net profit. That would leave him with about seven times as much money as his ex-wife Jamie got under the divorce settlement to which the couple agreed last fall, before he announced he would sell the Dodgers.
Jamie McCourt was wired her $131 million divorce payment on Monday, from the Dodgers’ sale proceeds.
McCourt retains half-ownership of the Dodger Stadium parking lots, although no development can take place on the site unless he and the new owners agree, according to people familiar with the sale agreement.
The Dodgers’ new owners will collect parking fees, but they have not said how that revenue might be split with McCourt, or what development they might have envisioned for the parking lots.
The Dodgers’ bankruptcy filing came on the heels of a bruising two-year divorce battle that revealed how the McCourts used team revenue to further a lifestyle that included side-by-side estates in Holmby Hills and Malibu, private jet travel around the world, even house calls from hairdressers and makeup artists.
Commissioner Bud Selig seized control of the Dodgers’ financial operations last April. Major League Baseball later accused McCourt of “looting” $189 million from team funds.
The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy in June, evicting the trustee appointed by Selig and charging the commissioner with forcing their hand by rejecting a proposed television contract that would have put the team on sound financial footing.
The Dodgers’ new owners can open negotiations on a television deal this fall. They can launch a team-owned regional sports network, or they can leverage the threat to do so in what is expected to be a bidding war among Fox Sports, Time Warner Cable and perhaps CBS. The Dodgers’ new television contract is expected to be worth $4 billion, or more.