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Cheese · 12-21-2005, 07:53 PM

EXCLUSIVE REPORTS

Dayel Peterson
Staff Writer

In yet another blow to its television initiatives, The Calgary Puck Hockey League. has taken a massive loss on its $2.0 billion investment in a trio of North American cable operators, exposing what analysts say is a failed strategy to bring the fledgling Hockey Leagues teams into North American living rooms.

League watchers say the losses aren't just financial - The CPHL also failed to land big wins for its Microsoft FHL software platform in the cable sector either abroad or domestically.
The company last month reported shedding its entire 6.3 percent stake in Fantasy Hockey Leagues International (FHLI) of Amsterdam, a European cable group in which the CPHL invested $120 million in January 2002. The sale price wasn't disclosed, but FHLI's stock has fallen about 98 percent since the CPHL bought in.

Cameron Schuler, Assistant League Commissioner, and Head of CPHL Technical Intelligence and Telecommunications (CPHL TIT) Corp, confirmed the company has taken write-downs on all cable investments, though he would not comment on how much stock the CPHL currently holds.
CPHL will continue to invest in cable companies and other types of network operators in the future, Schuler said.
However, he acknowledged the European cable investments have not panned out the way he had hoped. Schuler blamed the investment losses on the volatility in the cable sector and a total lack of initiative from Fantasy GMs sitting in front of their computers on a daily basis.
"The cable industry has hit major snags with credit problems," he said. "A lot of those stocks have been hard hit over the last 18 months."
The good news for the CPHL is that with $5 billion in the bank, these losses probably won't hurt too much, said Darren Linn, director of research at North Carolina brokerage house Linn, Line and Lyin.
"We would like our General Managers to take a keener interest in the investment of CPHL monies into a new Television deal, a deal for the new Millenium that can take us into the second decade without the need of negotiating a new CPHL CBA."
The OLN Network recently made inquiries about hosting CPHL games for the next 3 years and Linn suggested that CPHL GMs should seriously think about taking this deal.
"If OLN can pick up MLB or NFL games within the next year or so, available weekend windows might become a thing of the past, better to sign now, and position yourself better for the future. OLN certainly won’t have a ton of quality filler for a long time, might as well show some games whenever possible."
All of this possible dealing should make the CPHL confident that Comcast is serious about turning OLN into a sports powerhouse. Having the CPHL as the product to lead the way can only help the league as long as it can stay in the foreground of the station’s plans.
News of OLNs offer is sure to leak out in the next while, the CPHL GMs committee was unsure of what that meant for next years teams as the current Television deal is about to expire. Will GMs become active in securing a solid long term deal for the CPHL and its charter franchises, or will the GMs choose to take a different route and attempt to negotiate a one or two year deal with YTV or MTV to keep revenue at this years levels.

Only time will tell.

12-21-2005, 07:53 PM	#1
Cheese Franchise Player Join Date: Mar 2002 Exp:	CPHL Exclusive Report EXCLUSIVE REPORTS Dayel Peterson Staff Writer In yet another blow to its television initiatives, The Calgary Puck Hockey League. has taken a massive loss on its $2.0 billion investment in a trio of North American cable operators, exposing what analysts say is a failed strategy to bring the fledgling Hockey Leagues teams into North American living rooms. League watchers say the losses aren't just financial - The CPHL also failed to land big wins for its Microsoft FHL software platform in the cable sector either abroad or domestically. The company last month reported shedding its entire 6.3 percent stake in Fantasy Hockey Leagues International (FHLI) of Amsterdam, a European cable group in which the CPHL invested $120 million in January 2002. The sale price wasn't disclosed, but FHLI's stock has fallen about 98 percent since the CPHL bought in. Cameron Schuler, Assistant League Commissioner, and Head of CPHL Technical Intelligence and Telecommunications (CPHL TIT) Corp, confirmed the company has taken write-downs on all cable investments, though he would not comment on how much stock the CPHL currently holds. CPHL will continue to invest in cable companies and other types of network operators in the future, Schuler said. However, he acknowledged the European cable investments have not panned out the way he had hoped. Schuler blamed the investment losses on the volatility in the cable sector and a total lack of initiative from Fantasy GMs sitting in front of their computers on a daily basis. "The cable industry has hit major snags with credit problems," he said. "A lot of those stocks have been hard hit over the last 18 months." The good news for the CPHL is that with $5 billion in the bank, these losses probably won't hurt too much, said Darren Linn, director of research at North Carolina brokerage house Linn, Line and Lyin. "We would like our General Managers to take a keener interest in the investment of CPHL monies into a new Television deal, a deal for the new Millenium that can take us into the second decade without the need of negotiating a new CPHL CBA." The OLN Network recently made inquiries about hosting CPHL games for the next 3 years and Linn suggested that CPHL GMs should seriously think about taking this deal. "If OLN can pick up MLB or NFL games within the next year or so, available weekend windows might become a thing of the past, better to sign now, and position yourself better for the future. OLN certainly won’t have a ton of quality filler for a long time, might as well show some games whenever possible." All of this possible dealing should make the CPHL confident that Comcast is serious about turning OLN into a sports powerhouse. Having the CPHL as the product to lead the way can only help the league as long as it can stay in the foreground of the station’s plans. News of OLNs offer is sure to leak out in the next while, the CPHL GMs committee was unsure of what that meant for next years teams as the current Television deal is about to expire. Will GMs become active in securing a solid long term deal for the CPHL and its charter franchises, or will the GMs choose to take a different route and attempt to negotiate a one or two year deal with YTV or MTV to keep revenue at this years levels. Only time will tell.