Atlanta Braves to be Sold

Time Warner is selling (or is it transferring?) the Atlanta Braves to Liberty Media Corp.

While first reporting this transaction, The Wall Street Journal indicated that Time Warner would transfer the Braves, a selection of craft magazines and $1 billion in cash to Liberty Media in exchange for 60 million shares of Time Warner.

Now this deal almost seems like a tax shelter the way it is structured but I'm not interested in the dollar amount as much as I am in another potential aspect of this deal.

Right now (and for almost as long as I can remember) I get to watch dozens of Braves games on Superstation TBS who will have 70 Braves games this year. TBS won't be doing national broadcast of Braves games in 2008 (it will do 45 games local to the Atlanta area). Do all those games go to Turner South who has longterm broadcast rights to the Braves (not sure till when)?

What is interesting is that with the new MLB Extra Innings package going to DirectTV exclusively this year is that right now the only way to follow the Braves outside the Atlanta area in 2008 will be to buy a dish from DirectTV. Who happens to be the largest shareholder in DirectTV? Well that would be Liberty Media Group.

It is starting to seem like some sort of corprorate shell game going on.