Local Sports Network Channels Dodgers’ History

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As the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate the 50th anniversary of the team’s move from Brooklyn, local broadcast partners are joining the party.

Pre- and postgame shows on FSN Prime Ticket feature programs created by the network to commemorate the anniversary. It’s the first time that the network has produced original content to run in this format and FSN Prime Ticket, a subsidiary of News Corp., has monetized the programs by adding sponsors.

The network produced “True Blue Stories: 50 Years of Dodgers Glory” and “Reelin’ in the Years.” Both series contain 50 original vignettes one for each season. The clips will be shown during the “Dodgers Live” pre- and postgame shows that air with every primetime game. Each month, the clips will highlight a different decade of the team’s history.

The short-form programming is an easy sell to sponsors because the clips run without distracting viewers from the game. The sponsorships are for telecasts only, although FSN Prime Ticket wants to eventually run the clips inside Dodger Stadium before games and post them online as well.

The network dug into its archives for videos that tell the story of the Los Angeles Dodgers through cultural, political and artistic milestones mixed with footage of the team. “True Blue Stories” episodes run for approximately three minutes and “Reelin’ ” episodes run for 30 seconds.

The “True Blue Stories” clips are sponsored by Lexus from May through the end of the season. For “Reelin’ in the Years,” burger chain Carl’s Jr. sponsored the 1950s, Southern California Honda Dealers sponsored the 1960s, Lexus sponsored the 1970s and Land Rover sponsored the 1990s. The network is still negotiating for the 1980s and the current decade.


Above the Bar

The U.S. Olympic Committee named Judge Charles Carter Lee its “Chef de Mission” for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Lee, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, was appointed unanimously by the USOC board.

Chef de mission is a French term for leader or head of the delegation. Responsibilities include coordinating team business and acting to ensure that the host society’s preparations are adequate to the team’s needs. Lee’s responsibilities also include representing the team to the host society and media.

Lee’s first legal job was with Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles in 1976. He worked as a litigator for five years before working independently for two years. In 1983, Lee was appointed an assistant U.S. attorney in the criminal division in Los Angeles. Since 1989, he has served with the L.A. County Superior Court, currently in the downtown civil division.

Lee speaks Mandarin and has visited China 20 times since 1979. Earlier this year, he received a Fulbright senior specialist grant to lead a series of lectures in Mandarin and English at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.

In 1984, Lee served as an envoy to the People’s Republic of China for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Lee headed a delegation to China for talks that concluded with China’s formal agreement to participate in the games after the Soviet boycott.


Soccer Season

Cal South, a Southern California youth soccer association, announced a five-year sponsorship agreement with the Waltos Group of Northwestern Mutual Financial Network last week.

Under the agreement, the Waltos Group will have a presence at the association’s annual President’s Meeting and VIP meetings. The group will also have a section on the association’s Web site.

Cal South represents over 150,000 players, coaches and league administrators throughout Southern California.

Waltos Group already sponsored Cal South’s luncheon at the 2008 Soccer Nation Expo at the L.A. Convention Center in January.


Staff reporter David Nusbaum can be reached at

[email protected]

or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 236.

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