Wisconsin's Weekend Morning News
MBJ - Bally Sports Wisconsin
It's time to check in with Teddy Nykel from the Milwaukee Business Journal in Teddy. I think we're still all kind of in recovery mode from that Brewers game on Thursday night. I don't think, oh, gosh, it seems like everybody in the city is still sad about it, but there's even more to be a little bit upset about. And that's the future of not just the Brewers, but the Bucks on TV locally. Yeah, you know, this centers around the future of Valley, Sports, Wisconsin, which is kind of struggling financially in recent years. This parent company is going through a bankruptcy case. And so that leaves a lot of questions up in there about how the Brewers are going to watch both the Brewers and the Bucks after the 2024-2025 season. So Valley Sports, Wisconsin, they've lost a lot of viewers in recent years. Just as more viewers have cut the cord from cable and satellite. And, you know, there's so many different ways to watch things now these days. And so last year, Valley Sports only had around 800,000 subscribers, which was about half of what they had on 2018. So that reduces revenue for Valley Sports. It also, they can't charge as much for sponsors because the audience is smaller. And so they're really wrestling with the future of that company and how viewers will be able to watch the Brewers and the Bucks going forward. So either of the teams said anything in terms of how fans are going to be able to watch their games if they're not able to get to the actual, especially for out-of-town games, I would think. Yeah, you know, we recently talked to the Brewers' principal owner, Mark Untacio. And he said that the team is still weighing possibilities for how fans are going to watch in the future. He said they've looked at options such as joining MLB media. They've looked at going out at a loan, and they've looked at teaming up with other local teams. So it sounds like they're still trying to figure it out. But the Brewers and the Bucks have been closely watching this Valley Sports parent company. The parent company is called Diamond Sports. They've been watching that bankruptcy place very closely because these teams get a good chunk of revenue from the fees that they're able to charge Valley Sports and other providers for the rights to air these games. So it's an ongoing story that we're continuing to cover because fans want to know how they're going to continue to watch these games. I know you're on top of it. All right, another sad story, especially for the workers. And that is Molson Core's mechanics have gone out on strike. What's behind all that? It's a group of around 40 employees at work at the Miller Brewery in Milwaukee. They went on strike last week after they rejected the company's offer for their latest round of contract negotiations. And there's two reasons for the strike, both for wages, of course, wanting to kind of match other jobs and other trades at Molson Core's, but also for work-life balance. They said that Molson Core's insists on an alternate work schedule and other concessions that undermine their flexibility and their work-life balance. And so that is one of the key things that they're looking to negotiate. Molson Core said it plans to continue the negotiations. It said it has made a competitive offer that exceeds local market rates for similar local jobs. And so they're hoping to find a resolution so that these people can get back to work. It's mechanics and machinery pair workers. Does it look like it's going to be a short strike? You know, we really don't know at this time. Earlier this year, another Molson Core's facility workers went on strike in Texas. And that one lasted for three months. So we'll see if this one goes on that long or can get wrapped up sooner. Well, you mentioned a good life work balance. And I can't think of a better way to balance it than with a good pizza. And another story that you've got asked to do with Palermo's. Yeah, you know, recently we had a event with the Business Journal where we had the CEO of Palermo's Pizza. You know, of course, they make frozen pizzas, many different frozen pizzas. He came and kind of talked about the company's past and its future. And one of the key things that we learned about Palermo's is they're looking to go global. So over the past, you know, six years or so, they've grown. They started as a small family owned bakery. Now they sell frozen pizzas all over the country, both under their own brands and for other companies. And now they're looking to go global. So the company is in talks with counterparts in Canada, Italy, Asia, trying to get some more Palermo's pies on shelves and other countries. Isn't that exciting? I love that one. Here's one that I'm wondering about the popularity of pickleball. And they're building a facility in South Milwaukee and it's not just going to be pickleball. There's a lot more to it. Yeah, you know, people love pickleball and so this center in South Milwaukee is going to be called Premier Pickleball. It's related to open in October, but they are working on to go along with it. It's going to include an event space, a restaurant, a gym, locker room. So really kind of a full service facility. They're hoping to open in October and then November is when the restaurant portion could open. They're going to be working with a third party restaurant and supper club operator. And that they're hoping to open by November 1st. Of course, Teddy, it wouldn't be Sunday if we didn't talk about more apartments. And this time in New Berlin, tell us about this new apartment complex. Yeah, so we're talking about Moreland Road and Greenfield Avenue, which is kind of a key intersection in New Berlin. One of the corners is a big open area that's not yet developed. It's been slated for redevelopment for years and a developer recently purchased it and they have a full plan for kind of a town center style development. So it would include both a lot of apartments. They're pitching 361 apartments, but as well as retail. So they're picturing restaurants, boutiques, maybe some offices. And the idea is that people in the apartment could walk to these nearby businesses. They're also planning to conserve a lot of the land with nature trails, keeping some of the woodlands and wetlands and ponds. So they're really kind of, they have a big vision for that little piece of New Berlin. And that's right on the corner sort of adjacent to where the Walmart is, right? Yes, near the Walmart. It's next to a cemetery right now. They actually purchased it from the cemetery that they know the cemetery never expanded to this portion. So it's, you know, open land, again, make beautiful nature. And right on the corner there, they're hoping to kind of preserve some of that. Well, there's always advantages to living next to a cemetery because the neighbors are quiet. Yes. All right, Jenny, it's always good to have you here. Thanks for joining us. Thanks, Libby.