Philadelphia Daily News from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 90

90 Friday. October 30. 1981 Philadelphia Daily News 1 WMa PHb Sddm Chanmng CMmoB By RICH HOFMANN about what the acquisition of the Phillies does for his station. Channel 29 already has'the Flyers, and this would seem to make for quite a one-two punch.j i "The addition of the Phillies," Smith said, "is a significant step forward in making this the local sports station. "A Phillies telecast does five times the normal audience size that the average independent station would do in prime time.

When Channel 17 does a Phillies telecast, they have substantially larger audiences. That translates not only into dollars, but into promotional, opportunities and visibility and just simple tune-in. People who wouldn't watch the station for any other reason might tune in for a sporting event, and then they can get into the habit of tuning in." Meanwhile, across town at Channel 17, the jaws were set and the teeth gritted. "WE INTEND TO make the next two years the best we've ever had," said Gene McCurdy the general manager. "We've been on an increask ing course as far as audience and production quality and sq on, and we don't intend to let up on that effort at all.

"We've been on excellent terms with the Phillies, and this doesn't change that. A good cooperative effort that's been very successful and part of that is because of the cooperation of the Phillies, particularly Bill Giles. "We'll miss 'em," McCurdy said. "We wish we couldVe kept 'em. But nothing lasts forever." Not TV contracts, not ownership of a team that dates back to 1944 nothing lasts "It's the end of a baseball era in this said Rich Ashburn, a bit nostalgically.

"I don't know if it will ever be the same." "That doesn't mean it can't, because we're in the broadcast business, a business where things can change at almost any time, but I don't think that change will affect us." Giles, then, is the key guy. Randy Smith, the man from Channel 29radmitted as much. "I think it's reasonable to assume," Smith said, "that the broadcaster wouldn't want; to hire talent that was patently offensive to the team, simply because it makes for a lousy working arrangement. "REALLY, THE whole thing will depend largely on who will be there in two years. We have no assurance that the people who are involved will still be around.

It will be up lo the station to work out with the personalities involved a suitable arrangement, but I think it's certainly reasonable to say that we feel Channel 17 is doing a first-class job, and we're not looking at it as if we want to go in and make a lot of changes. As far as specifics, though, it is a bit premature." Nevertheless, Smith was prepared to talk A GOOD GUESS. Andy Musser likes the timing, too. Musser, along with Harry Kalas, Rich Ashburn and Tim McCarver, comprise the Phils' TV crew. McCarver is employed by the Phillies, but the other three technically work for Channel 17, and you would think that any change of station would be a bit worrisome.

But that just isn't the case, as least for Musser. "I haven't talked to anybody at Channel 29 yet." Musser said. "The way this arrangement has always been is that no matter where the paycheck has come from, our responsibility has always been to the Phillies and to Bill Giles, and he has always kind of orchestrated our arrangement, whatever the technicalities. "So, when the games Ion radio recently" switched from KYW to WCAU. it didn't affect us, and now that there is going to be a change in TV stations, I don't look for that to affect us, either.

Biles Dirwesfts Dim a Oireamro It was not that long ago, back in the winter of 78, that WPHL-TV (Channel 17) helped buy the Phillies a world championship. Free agent Pete Rose, then a player for the Cincinnati Reds, had turned down Ruly Carpenter's final offer. He wasn't coming to Philadelphia. Carpenter wasn't willing to wreck the delicate balance of his salary structure. There was no way.

Until, that is. Bill Giles convinced the people who own Channel 17, the Providence (R.I.) Journal that Rose on the field meant more people in front of the tube, and that more people in front of the tube meant higher advertising rates, and that higher ad rates meant that WPHL could kick in a little extra money to make Rose the offer he couldn't refuse. The rest, as they say on TV. is history. Channel 17 came up with an additional $600,000.

Rose came to the Phils, the world championship came to the Vet, and everybody prospered. AND THAT'S WHY Bill Giles made a point of thanking the people at Channel 17 after it was announced that, as an addendum to the sale of the ballclub, the TV rights would shift over to WTAF-TV (Channel 29) on a nine-year deal beginning in 1984. The reason? WTAF is owned by Taft Broadcasting Co. of Cincinnati, Giles' major financial backer. The new team president said there were no changes anticipated in the broadcast booth, and he again thanked tbe people at WPHL.

"I really want to thank Channel 17," Giles said. "They have been superb. We'll be working for them for two more years. I'm really sorry we had to make this move, but it's happened. 7id really like to congratulate and thank the IChannell 17 people." Giles said later that over the nine-year life of the contract with Channel 29.

the Phillies would be paid in excess of the sale price of the club $30,175,000. This is very big money, apparently bigger than any other local baseball TV contract. "I don't know any details of the pact," said Randy Smith. WTAF's general manager. "Frankly.

I haven't even seen the contract on the ITV rights." ONE GUY WHO MUST have seen it is Charles Mechem Taft's chairman of the board. He was in from Cincinnati yesterday for the press conference, and was doing a lot of smiling. Taft is huge, with seven television stations, 12 radio stations, five amusement parks and a small piece of the Reds, a small piece that they will have to unload before the Phils sale is OKd by the National League. By the way, the Taft station in the Queen City WKRC in Cincinnati does not air the Reds' games. That right belongs to WWL, and has for years.

"But we bid for them," Mechem said. "Every time they come up. "I think this all fits in very naturally for us. I think several things got us involved with the Reds. It isn't widely remembered, but Taft Broadcasting tried to buy the Reds and almost did in 1965 or so.

We came close and didn't get it. We've always had an interest in sports because it seems compatible with our business. So when we have an opportunity to buy a small piece of the Reds, we thought we'd do that and 'see if other opportunities came along to expand that. And then this all came along. "We know Bill IGilesI a little bit because of his Cincinnati roots Giles' father.

Warren, was a former general manager of the Reds, and Bill worked there, tool. So we contacted him. really without any reason, without knowing that anything was transpiring, just to tell them that if anything happened, we'd be interested. That was at the beginning of Bill's efforts to put this ogether, so I guess thetimtngrwas good." approval from Commissioner Kuhn and National League President Chub Feeney after assuring them that she has divcsied herself of any race-track holdings. The other two investment blocks are held by groups of Main Line background and The first is J.D.B.

Associates, comprised of John Drew Betz, Chairman Emiritus of Betz Laboratories, and Robert Hedbcrg, his financial consultant. The second is Tri-Play Associates, a consortium of three brothers, Alexander K. Buck, James Mahlon Buck and William Clifton Buck. They arc the principle executive officers of TDH. Inc.

and TDH Capital Corporation, private venture capital investment companies. GILES WEPT during the first pari of his opening remarks, just as Carpenter did when he addressed a 9:30 gathering of Phillies employees at the Vet. And there was no doubting Giles' motivation or resolve when he said this: "I grew up in a baseball park," he said, his voice throbbing with emotion. "My mother died when I was 7 years old and I was the only child and I used lo run around Crosley Field every day and night. And I hope to have the last day of my life right across the street at Vet Stadium." Warren Giles, dying of canqer, spent the last happy days of his life at winter meetings in Orlando, an event he would not miss if it were held in Nome, Alaska.

He watched with pride and interest as his son orchestrated the financial moves that brought Pete Rose to the Phillies. And then Warren Giles, a past ballclub president, a past National League president and president emeritus, went home to Cincinnati and died. Bill was at his bedside. Somewhere, Warren Giles, ruddy-faced and smiling, wearing a red and white seersucker sports jacket, is having a drink with Walter. O'Malley and Phil Wrigley.

Tom Yawkey is there in his faded tan windbreaker. Powell Crosley and Judge Roy Hofheintz are there, too. Branch Rickey is drinking ginger ale, but they are all having a helluva good time. They are drinking a toast to the pup out of their litter who was smart enough and tough enough to buck the tide and keep a baseball tradition alive, perhaps the last of a.yanishin Continued from Back Page want to do something with their money. They didn't know whether to take their money and go elsewhere or what.

"I COULD HAVE had a lot more money from different people, but I wanted to pick and choose, people I thought I could live with and who had thesame philosophical desires asldtd." Giles had hoped during the negotiations with CBS that resulted in the S12-million WCAU radio contract that the communications giant would hop aboard as one of his six investment units. It didn't happen. Bill became nervous. He was still a little short. Enter the Taft Broadcasting Company.

Rather, re-enter Taft. "The Taft thing was a funny deal." Giles said of the Cincinnati-based broadcasting conglomerate that will invest approximately S13 million and will pay the Phillies a rock-bottom minimum of S31 million for a staggering nine-year, free-TV-rights contract awarded to Taft's Channel 29 that will take effect in 1984. "One of the lawyers with the firm which handled this for me was a friend of Dudley Taft. fsaid. Gee.

I know Dudley Taft, my father knew the Taft family That's the Taft family as in William Howard Taft, the nation's physically immense 23rd President. Giles has lined up a group with enough blue blood to float the Mayflower. "All of a sudden I got a call from Dudley Taft," Bill said. How you coming on your he asked me. I said, 'Well, we're a little bit He asked how much we needed, I told him and he said, 'You've got Giles laughed, one of many laughs on a' day when he also shed tears over the passing of the Carpenters from their 37-year ownership.

"It was a very nice phone call," he said. SO THERE HE had it. Taft was in for the lion share and more in rights fees down the road. He also had the comforting but much less heavily-invested presence of the Widener fortune repesented by former 76ers owner, philanthropist, patron of the arts and sports fan Fitz Dixon, and his friend. Bob Levy.

The Atlantic City Race Course impresario has been forced by stringent anti-gambling baseball rules to defer his investment to his wife. Sissie. Giles said yesterday that Sissu; Levy has. rt-ceived vfecbak Photographed by Sam Psoras Bill Giles' dream has come true.