Baseball Considers Its Own TV Network

Major league baseball is exploring whether to start its own television channel to give it bargaining power in future negotiations with Fox, ESPN and other networks, a league executive said.

Last month in Dallas, the six-member board of Major League Baseball Properties Inc. discussed starting a channel that might begin broadcasting as early as the 2004 World Series, said Tim Brosnan, an MLB executive vice president.

“It’s obligatory that we examine this option,” Brosnan said. “Like every good business, we’re trying to plan for the future.”

Baseball’s strategy follows that of other sports leagues. The National Basketball Assn. already has a channel and earlier this month, the National Football League said its channel would begin airing on Hughes Electronics Corp.’s DirecTV next year. The channels give the leagues an outlet to show games if they can’t reach a rights-fee agreement with networks.