Dallas Stars: Pros and Cons of a Fox Sports Southwest Sale

Last month, the Justice Department approved Disney’s purchase of Fox, but it came with a condition. All of the regional sports networks have to be sold, including Fox Sports Southwest, the television home of the Dallas Stars.

This may mean big changes for Dallas Stars coverage in the coming years.

After meeting with the Justice Department, the shareholders of both companies still had to approve the deal, which they did this past Friday. There are still a few more things that have to happen before the merger officially starts, including gaining international approval, and it sounds like things may not start moving until next spring.

At this point, the Stars will be back on Fox Sports Southwest as expected when the season starts on October 4, but it looks like it’s only a matter of time before things change up. Let’s take a look at a few potential pros and cons to the situation.

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Pro: A Chance to Bring in New Faces

If the new owners decide to change things up, it could help improve the Stars’ coverage by bringing in a fresh perspective. The coverage is good now, but this could provide an opportunity to expand the broadcast team.

They could expand by adding more former players, whether through a regular spot or through rotating and guest spots. It could also mean bringing in more specialized reporters to cover different aspects.

Con: Fan Favorite Broadcasters May Leave

If the new owners decide they don’t want to keep around the team they’ve got, things could change for the worse. They may decide to get rid of everyone and replace them with some terrible choices. Anyone who’s watched a game on NBC Sports knows how bad it can get in the current broadcasting climate.

Even if the ownership group itself doesn’t want them to, broadcasters may still leave because of the new work environment. Depending on budget, pre-existing company policies, new hires, or other factors, the new workplace may clash with what people desire, and broadcasters may choose to leave for other opportunities.

Pro: Potential Increased Emphasis on Hockey

When it comes to broadcasting the Big 4 sports, hockey tends to end up on the bottom rung of the ladder in most cities. A new ownership group could come in and say they want to put a bigger emphasis on hockey coverage.

Fox Sports Southwest has exclusive rights to the Dallas Stars, but it also has exclusive rights to the Mavericks, Rangers, and Spurs. The network also covers other things, like high school events and Big 12 football. Figuring out where those things fall in the new hierarchy will have a big effect on those teams. If the new management thinks pushing hockey is the way to go, Stars fans win.

Con: Potential Decreased Emphasis on Hockey

Just like new management can come in and put an emphasis on hockey, they can also come in and push it even further into the bottom of the barrel. They could gut the broadcast team, push more games off to the alternate channels, and avoid any sort of advertising.

Broadcasting has a huge impact on the fans of a team. If they decide to make watching Dallas Stars games a miserable experience, people who support the team but aren’t diehard fans could choose not to watch games anymore, which hurts the team.

There are still a lot of things up in the air about the merger and the sale of the regional sports teams, but for now, how do you feel about the situation? What are your concerns?