Tim Graham: Fox Sports West 2 is foundering

Tim Graham

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The old slogan at MTV became the rule for all television networks to follow: "Too much is never enough."

Fox Sports West, even when it was known as Prime Sports, used to think that way, too. Then it found out that too much is enough for two networks.

Fox Sports West 2 was launched Jan. 27 with a lineup to immediately rival any other in the all-sports television business: Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Clippers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Long Beach Ice Dogs, UCLA and USC football and basketball, live horse racing from Santa Anita and Hollywood Park and Southern California prep football and basketball games of the week.

Fox Sports West keeps the California Angels, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings, its national college football and basketball packages (Pac 10, Conference USA, Big 12), "Fight Night at the Forum" and Anaheim Piranhas of the Arena Football League.

"I don't think the goal was to get enough to operate a second network, but we've got so many fans we thought we weren't satisfying that we thought we needed a second channel," Fox Sports vice president Vince Wladika said.

While the necessity was there to divide, Fox Sports West 2 has yet to conquer. It launched in about 400,000 homes, but hasn't even gained full acceptance in the Los Angeles area. It's currently on 17 out of nearly 200 systems in California and Nevada.

Southern Nevada's lone cable operator, Prime Cable, is far from accepting it either.

"Immediately, we have no intention of adding Fox Sports West 2," said Mary Alice Bauchman, Prime Cable's vice president of marketing. "We currently don't have the channel capacity to carry it.

"As we do with all new networks, we will continue to evaluate it. But right now, we have no plans for Fox Sports West 2."

In other words, the only way Fox Sports West 2 has a chance is if Prime Cable's office becomes flooded with phone calls, letters and faxes from subscribers demanding it.

"The response from the general consumers has been very good, but the response from the cable operators has been very discouraging," Wladika said. "But oftentimes cable operators and consumers don't see eye to eye. This is an example.

"It's a disservice to their customers. Why wouldn't an operator want this on their system?"

Fox Sports West 2 is negotiating with digital satellite systems DirecTV and Prime Star. It already has been added by WANTV, a wireless cable operator that services many bars and hotels in the valley.

With valor

Less than 12 hours after commenting to a colleague that UNLV graduate and "SportsCenter" anchor Kenny Mayne is on top of his profession, I was informed by ESPN that the second of Mayne's twin infant sons died over the holidays.

Connor Mayne, born in May nearly four months premature, died after making significant progress. His brother, Creighton, was stillborn as a result of a condition known as twin-to-twin transfusion, where one fetus steals fluids from the other.

Considering Mayne's tragedy, his focus and professionalism become awe-inspiring. His hilarious dry wit in spite of his loss becomes amazing. Right now, there may not be another sportscaster more talented.