As Bud Selig is about to retire from a long stint as Commissioner of Baseball, three candidates have surfaced to replace him. The clubhouse favorite is Rob Manfred, MLB’s Chief Operating Officer and the number two man inside the sport. The other candidates are Tim Brosnan, MLB’s executive vice president of business and Tom Werner, Chairman of the Boston Red Sox.
And while Manfred is considered to be the likely successor to Selig, Werner is an intriguing candidate. You may ask why Werner is there, but looking at his television background, it’s not far-fetched to see him as one of the three choices to replace Selig next year.
Werner began his career at ABC working to develop primetime programming. He was credited with launching Mork & Mindy which catapulted Robin Williams’ career, Bosom Buddies which gave Tom Hanks his start, Soap which gave Billy Crystal a platform and Taxi which starred Judd Hirsch, Andy Kaufman and Danny DeVito.
Werner left ABC and with Marcy Carsey started their own production company, Carsey-Werner. They sold legendary hits to the networks like The Cosby Show, Roseanne and 3rd Rock from the Sun. And selling these shows into syndication made Werner a very rich man.
It was in the late 1980’s when Werner got the itch to own a sports team and he got his wish when he led a group to buy the San Diego Padres. From 1990-1994, the Padres languished in the National League West, but during that period, Werner worked with Larry Lucchino and a young Theo Epstein who later became part of the Boston Red Sox.
Werner eventually sold the Padres after becoming practically persona non grata for the Rosanne National Anthem incident, cutting back on the team’s resources and enduring a lawsuit from fans.
As Werner licked his wounds from his Padres experience, he formed the Fenway Sports Group with Lucchino and John Henry to purchase the Red Sox in 2002. One of the “jewels” in the purchase was the NESN, the regional sports network that is co-owned by the Red Sox and Boston Bruins. FSG later purchased Liverpool of the English Premier League and Werner was named Chairman of the team.
Having taken over the Red Sox in 2003, Werner currently oversees NESN which one of the few independently owned-and-operated regional sports networks in the country. One of Werner’s first acts was to take NESN off a pay tier and put the network on basic cable. This move endeared the Red Sox ownership to fans as many had to pay extra to watch the Red Sox and Bruins. With the pay shackles off, the network not only increased its ratings, but NESN gave the ownership extra cash.
While NESN’s production of the Red Sox and Bruins is considered one of the best in the country, behind the scenes machinations and the network’s programming have not matched Werner’s past successes in television. Ratings for the Red Sox this year are down due mainly to the failure of the team.
Efforts to diversify the network’s programming from sports have met brick walls. A reality dating show, Sox Appeal, where singles met at Fenway Park while cameras rolled during a Red Sox game inexplicably lasted for two seasons. NESN currently airs a late night Saturday infomercial called Dirty Water TV which is supposed to be about Boston nightlife and the club scene, but seems to be obsessed with celebrity interviews. And the network currently airs a food and lifestyle program called Dining Playbook. Neither of these programs have set the New England ratings on fire, yet NESN continues to look for that one elusive hit that will catch on with viewers.
In industry circles, NESN has a reputation for not paying its on-air talent and technical people. Over the years, the network has lost an all-star lineup including Sean McDonough, Hazel Mae, Heidi Watney, Jade McCarthy, Randy Scott, Cole Wright, Tina Cervasio, John Chandler, Naoko Funayama, Leah Hextall and others. And while many of them have left for greener pastures, most wanted to stay with NESN and in the Boston area, but were cut loose.
Baseball’s team owners may vote for Rob Manfred, but also pushed for Werner to enter the race. While he’s a dark horse in a three-man race, sometimes crazy things can happen and can lead to a surprise result. However, with Werner’s television connections and his friendships with other owners, it’s a distant possibility that he could become Commissioner. And with MLB Network under the Commissioner’s stewardship, one wonders what Werner would do with that channel if given the opportunity. Perhaps Kevin Millar and Chris Rose will attempt to do their own wilderness survival show.
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