No free TV?

Despite being American League champions and World Series participants for the first time in 22 years, the Detroit Tigers may not be on free local broadcast television next season.

The team and cable partner Fox Sports Net Detroit, which handled the broadcast deal with WMYD-Channel 20 for this season, have begun preliminary talks with stations interested in televising games for 2007, said Karen Cullen, vice president of corporate communications for Ilitch Holdings Inc., which owns both the Tigers and Red Wings. Talks with radio stations have begun, too.

The key factor in negotiating a broadcast TV deal is the Tigers' success. The team believes its games are worth more but station executives are skeptical of any significant boost.

There's a very real chance the Tigers could be off the free local airwaves in 2007, as they were in 2004 and 2005, those involved said.

Channel 20 struck a one-year deal with FSN initially for 15 games, then three more, for this season, said Greg Hammaren, vice president and general manager for FSN Detroit. He said FSN's 110-game contract with the Tigers runs through 2012, but declined to put a dollar amount on the deal.

No one involved in the Channel 20 deal would say how much it was worth, nor were they willing to speculate on the price of 2007's broadcast package. Opinions vary on how much the Tigers' success affects the price of television package.

"Under the right conditions, we would continue the over-the-air arrangement," Hammaren said. "Will it happen again next year? I'm not sure yet."

FSN produced and staffed...