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September 2, 2026

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While the Angels’ on-field performance will be a key point of focus for incoming owner Stan Kroenke, media issues also loom large. Along with the team, Kroenke is acquiring ABTV from outgoing Angels owner Arte Moreno.

—Eric Fisher

First Up

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Kroenke Inherits Uncertain Angels TV Network, Stadium Fight

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Stan Kroenke is inheriting a massive job to rebuild the Angels, on and off the field, as part of his landmark $4 billion deal to acquire the MLB club. A key part of that reconstruction is elevating Angels Broadcast Television (ABTV), the regional sports network that is part of the agreement.

Along with the team, Kroenke is acquiring ABTV from outgoing Angels owner Arte Moreno, with that television network very much in a transitional state. Soon after the Angels were one of nine MLB clubs to sever ties with the largely defunct Main Street Sports Group in early February, Moreno bought out the company’s 50% interest in FanDuel Sports Network West, the RSN that the two entities previously shared.

Moreno and the Angels originally planned to retain the FanDuel name for the RSN, but rebranded to the ABTV moniker in May. Under the ABTV name, the network has been attempting to forge an uncertain path as cord-cutting and cord-nevering continue to batter much of the regional sports media business.

In part because of that, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has increasingly pushed for a greater nationalization and pooling of the local media rights across the league. As part of ongoing labor negotiations with the MLB Players Association, management is also proposing to pool and split all local media rights evenly across the 30 teams—but in the context of a salary cap that the players fiercely oppose.

ABTV also airs the NHL’s Kings, and it has distribution deals with major Southern California distributors such as Spectrum, DirecTV, and Cox. Angels broadcasts are led by a popular on-air crew of Wayne Randazzo, Mark Gubicza, and Erica Weston. Kroenke is also acquiring KLAA-AM, the Angels’ radio broadcaster, in the franchise deal. It will bear watching whether that platform’s game announcers, Mark Langston and Terry Smith, will resume traveling to Angels road contests, as they haven’t since the COVID-19 pandemic started.

Kroenke has shown to be a tough negotiator elsewhere in his sports empire when it comes to local broadcasting. His Altitude Sports & Entertainment, which airs the NBA’s Nuggets and NHL’s Avalanche that he also owns, had a contract dispute with Comcast that kept the network off that carrier for five and a half years until reaching a new deal early last year.

Mayoral Elation

In addition to the media situation, Angel Stadium and the area around it are poised for large-scale changes after Kroenke’s deal closes early next year. Moreno previously sought to acquire the publicly owned ballpark as part of a more expansive mixed-use development that was planned. The agreement, however, collapsed, in large part due to a corruption investigation of then–Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu.

“I feel like it’s my birthday,” current Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken told The Athletic. “Not to put the cart ahead of the horse, but if the deal goes through, and if it’s approved by Major League Baseball, then I’m very hopeful that [Kroenke is] going to want to work with the city to come up with a really innovative development plan that would benefit the residents. Youth sports fields and housing, and potentially hotel development. And make it a vibrant place.”

Angel Stadium is MLB’s fourth-oldest ballpark, trailing only iconic venues Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and Dodger Stadium. Each of those ballparks, and plenty of others, have been dramatically upgraded. Angel Stadium, however, is becoming increasingly outdated and is largely surrounded by surface parking.

Kroenke, meanwhile, has developed SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and is also creating a mixed-use project in Woodland Hills anchored by the Rams’ headquarters and training facility.

A New Day for Trout

Angels icon and future Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Trout cheered the forthcoming ownership transition, saying it was “needed.” While Trout has long professed his comfort playing in Anaheim, his talents have been somewhat obscured on a national level because of the Angels’ extended losing ways during the Moreno era.

The Angels have already assured themselves of an 11th consecutive losing season in 2026, have not reached the postseason since 2014, and haven’t won a playoff game since 2009—two years before Trout made his MLB debut.

“Seeing the reaction from the fans and some of the guys and just the whole vibe, I think it was needed for a fresh start,” said Trout, who is under contract through 2030 as part of a 12-year, $426.5 million contract extension signed in 2019. “The biggest thing is getting that winning culture back and having that vibe in the clubhouse.”

After hearing the news of the pending sale, Trout called an unnamed Rams player to get his take on Kroenke and received a positive review. Every one of the major pro sports teams controlled by Kroenke has won a league title under his ownership, and his Rams are the current favorites to win Super Bowl LXI.

“What a track record,” Trout said. “Wherever he buys, he wins.”

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ONE BIG FIG

On the Map

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9

That’s the number of international games the NFL will play this season, though team owners earlier this year approved a resolution allowing as many as 10 international games per season. As the league’s overseas ambitions continue to grow, the NFL is considering the possibility of playing a future regular-season game in Japan.

“Obviously we look at what could be next,” Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s EVP of club business, major events, and international, said in a video news conference Wednesday. “What are parts of the world where … there is fandom? There is strategic opportunity? … We’ve been out there saying there are parts of the world that we’re looking at [and] we’re exploring. Is there an opportunity in Japan in the future? That’s the process that we use.”

O’Reilly also said Japan is “among the countries or parts of the world that we’re looking at.”

LOUD AND CLEAR

‘College Football’s Agent of Chaos’

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“Just keep him away from the sorority girls. Make sure they’ve graduated college or are working a job.”

—Advice then-Alabama head football coach Nick Saban gave to a staffer about Lane Kiffin, according to an excerpt from John Talty’s book, Lane Being Lane: The Story of Lane Kiffin, College Football’s Agent of Chaos, published in Vanity Fair.

The exchange, according to Talty, happened shortly after reports of Kiffin having an affair circulated in 2015. Kiffin’s wife Layla and children were living in California while he was in Alabama, where he was often spotted at local bars. One source told Talty that Kiffin would ask whether he could “introduce me to hotties?”

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS LIVE

The New Era of Sports Media

Tuned In returns next month to gather the biggest names in sports media in one room.

Joining us on Oct. 13 at The Times Center will be NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman, MLS commissioner Don Garber, Steve O’Donnell of NASCAR, Chris Berman of ESPN, Elle Duncan of Netflix, Mike Foss of ESPN, and Pablo Torre of the Pulitzer-winning podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out. Also, college sports broadcasters John Fanta of NBC Sports and Josh Pate of Josh Pate’s College Football Show will sit down together to discuss the growth of college sports and its impact on media.

Don’t miss your chance to be in the room with the people shaping the future of sports media.

Get your ticket now.

STATUS REPORT

Three Up, One Down

Tyler McFarland/USTA

ESPN ⬆ The network’s opening day coverage of the US Open on Sunday averaged 1.3 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC, the largest opening day audience, according to the network. Primetime coverage of Novak Djokovic and Mariano Navone’s marathon five-set match averaged 958,000 viewers. Djokovic fell to Navone, making it the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s first time losing in the first round at the US Open, a tournament he’s won four times.

WTGL ⬆ ESPN and Ion will broadcast the inaugural season of the indoor team women’s golf league that will begin Nov. 8. Matches, which will be played at the 1,500-seat SoFi Center in South Florida featuring LPGA players, will air across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and Ion. The men’s TGL, cofounded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, aired on ESPN platforms its first two seasons and is likely to extend that deal ahead of Season 3.

Amazon ⬆ The company reached exclusive streaming deals with six NHL teams, significantly expanding its regional sports media footprint. The new pacts with the Hurricanes, Ducks, Blue Jackets, Stars, Wild, and Blues provide a new pathway for those clubs that previously were tied with the shuttering Main Street Sports Group. The Ducks and Stars also had an interim stint with Victory+, which has similarly ceased operations. The agreements, varying in structure and value, add to Amazon’s existing tie with the Kraken and to the company’s national-level NHL deal in Canada.

Texas Tech ⬇ Former Texas Tech wide receiver Roy Alexander filed a lawsuit against the NCAA over penalties assigned to him for engaging in sports betting activities between 2023 and 2025. Alexander played only three games for the Red Raiders before transferring to Incarnate Word. He argued he shouldn’t have faced penalties because he didn’t actually bet on any of his own teams. Though unrelated, the suit comes just a few months after Texas Tech dealt with former quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who admitted to years of gambling activity and sued the NCAA for the right to play anyway.