February 3 --- Update:

So, XETV ( San Diego's "Fox 6" ) never mentioned the 2008 Winter X Games including the local superstar Shaun White and his Gold Medal run on Sunday night..., But on Thursday night (January 31), they showed a 'Red Bull Crashed Ice' event, which anchor (and XETV Sports Director) CS Keys was calling a new extreme sport that was catching on...

And XETV says X Games aren't REAL sports...

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FEBRUARY 2008 Report --- A BallHype exclusive

XETV is the ONLY station in southern California who does not show X Games news;  they refuse to do so, and have stated in writing that they are not real sports.  This is the third consecutive X Games where Fox 6 did not show one single clip; they are in a city with countless X athletes competing and winning, with the Summer X Games barely a two-hour drive away !

The most famous winter sports athlete of all grew up and still lives in warm, temperate San Diego.  His name is Shaun White, and he is one of the most famous of ALL athletes with the general population of the U.S., especially in the younger demographic. 

Shaun, who began as a skateboarder, then switched to snowboarding, and now does both professionally - won the men's snowboarding Gold Medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics, and has won more Winter X Games Gold medals than any other athlete.  He has appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone, and twice graced the cover of Sports Illustrated.

In 2007, Shaun accomplished an amazing feat:  He won medals in both the Summer and Winter X Games in the same year;  For the first time ever, he won the Gold medal in the Skateboard Vert competition last August in L.A.

At those same Summer X Games, San Diego based athletes took home 20 medals, more than another other locality, and as they have done in many years past, captured all three medals in certain skateboarding events.

As the founder of the San Diego eXtreme Sports Coalition, I always ask the local FOX TV affiliate XETV to include the important highlights of local athletes in the Winter and Summer X Games each time they occur.  To my dismay in 2007, XETV showed ZERO highlights of both the Winter and Summer X Games, despite all of the local talent and the notoriety of Shaun White.  They also never mentionad 2008 Winter X at all !

I remember Scrap and Jason from BallHype both choosing a skateboard vert highlight of the Summer X Games as one of the very best videos of the year.

XETV did not show this clip at all during the X Games, and they were the only station in San Diego to ignore it.  They were in fact the ONLY station in San Diego who showed no highlights of Summer X Games. This was as true for the all of the winter events in 2007 and 2008 in Aspen, as it was for the summer games held in Los Angeles.

I investigated the situation and found disturbing documentation of the station's policies, which completely omit all news highlights and all video of the X Games while in progress, and bar any mention of them until after conclusion.

A letter from their senior producer to one viewer stated that the station's position was that X Games are "not real sports" and are something fabricated by ESPN to raise their ratings and to give the network their own marquee event - in his eyes, nothing more than a publicity stunt for the net.  The station XETV to this day REFUSES to show event highlights and news during both season's games, even with so many local athletes so well known here and around the world.

Many of you have heard of Tony Hawk, the world's most famous skateboarder.  Though now retired, he also grew up and still lives in San Diego, and in fact was a mentor of Shaun White at the local skate park.

Tony is now a commentator for the X Games, and along with other top local skateboarders who are world-famous (Bob Burnquist, Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Andy MacDonald, Bucky Lasek) have tried to reiterate time and again to their own local TV news community of the very high interest in X Games news.

Note that the very first Winter X Games editions were promoted at early editions of the Summer X Games held in San Diego.  One method of hyping the winter version was to have - in the middle of the summer on a sunny day during the X Games events at Mission Bay Park - a huge SNOWBOARD ramp facing the ocean, with snowboarding events as demonstrations.

X Games are among the highest-rated local sports programs in San Diego every time they air, and the weekend ABC hours rival other more 'mainstream' sports' ratings such as Padres games in the summer and NBA in winter.

Here is the worst part of this particular situation with XETV (who is actually owned by Mexican media giant Televisa):  They will show every Red Bull stunt clip offered to them from anywhere in the world within their sports reports.  They have even shown Red Bull video SINCE the 2008 Winter X Games !

So, what they are saying is that the Red Bull-sponsored extreme stunts ARE real sports, because they show them reguarly in their nightly 10 pm news, but that actual - and mainstream - extreme sporting events part of the X Games, such as surfing, skateboaring, and snowboarding - ARE MOST CERTAINLY NOT REAL SPORTS, and do not deserve to be shown at all when they occur !

In 2007, after the conclusion of each - the Winter and Summer - X Games, I wrote to the station's management, and questioned their policies.  I presented evidence of the true popularity of these sports and athletes, of the high local interest in X Games and their TV ratings, and of the station's obligations as a local TV outlet and local news operation.  I provided contact information and extensive documentation, including the facts that every other station in San Diego showed some highlights during each of these 2007 X Games. 

I asked for an explanation, and got none.  I later once again asked for their reasoning for completely omitting these X Games, for stating that they were not real sports, and for showing Red Bull stunts and extreme sport with great regularity.

To this day, no one from the station has called or written to me.  They have not answered or offered to meet with any of the other leaders known to me who have brought this to their attention.  The extreme sports community in San Diego is not satisfied, and we are demanding and expecting positive changes from this Fox affiliate.  They are indeed obligated to cover the sports news stories of the most interest to the local community, and they are not meeting their obligations to their viewers or even the community at large.

XETV has a full half hour of sports every Sunday night, and on the other six nights, a sports segment within their 10 pm news.  If they can make room for Red Bull stunts at every opportunity, when they have no local connection whatsoever, how is it that the very producer in charge of "That Sunady Sports Show" and of sports director CS Key's nightly sports news DOES NOT ALLOW X GAMES TO BE SHOWN ?  Why is it that he is permitted to operate with such an unfair bias against these sports, and to such a degree as to tell people that they ARE NOT REAL SPORTS ?

I wrote to the Vice President and General Manager of this station, as well as the News Director;  both parties oversee the sports news production and personnel.  While they can be held responsible and could take action, they also have not given me an answer.  The policies obviously are continuing, in light of what's happened with this WInter X Games.

The GM is Richard Doutre-Jones and the News Director is Tauna Lange.  The Sports Director (and main anchor) is CS Keys, and the sports producer quoted and referenced here - still in control of content today - is Mike Lamar.

The station's website is http://www.fox6.com  They have the youngest viewers of any local TV news in San Diego, yet still insist that X Games events are not real sports to be shown, that these famous local athletes performances there are not to be a part of the day's news and are certainly less important than everything else they show - evidently insignificant in their eyes.

I know that some in the Blogosphere may also not think of these sports as being 'real', but ask yourself why they would show Red Bull clips all through the year last year and into 2008, and never one from the X Games during that time.  Please ask yourself why any station in San Diego - an extreme sports mecca - would choose deliberately to keep their viewers from knowing about these games and the results, and especially the breathtaking performances including local talent.

I trust that many of you will be intrigued by this media conundrum, and that you will help me spread the word about the problem and assist with direct communications to the station demanding immediate and permanent corrective actions.  I want the world to know about the behavior of this station, and it would be great to get it corrected in time for Summer X.

I am interested in feedback, but I hope you will read this and help the cause at any rate.  I seek to set a national example here;  It is a most eXtreme example of local TV sports news ignoring its own community...

( story continues below pic... )  

FEBRUARY 2008  MEN'S JOURNAL (SHAUN WHITE)

SUMMARY of the important points in this case: 

After the completion of the 2008 Winter X Games shown on both ABC and ESPN, XETV "Fox 6" is the only one in San Diego who did not show anything - no news stories or highlights at all.  Every other local TV news showed stories and videos multiple times on several days and nights.

XETV are the only ones in the entire region of Southern California to completely ignore this event, and there are over 20 local TV news stations.

The San Diego community at large, including the manufacturers and retailers involved with these sports as well as the fans, are now banding together to fight the discriminatory behavior.  The XETV "That Sunday Sports Show" is 30 minutes in length, and they had plenty of time to show Shaun White's breathtaking win on Sunday night.  Every other station in town did so.

San Diego is not only the liflelong home of Shaun White and Tony Hawk, but of the Action Sports Retailers semiannual national convention.  The winter show just concluded this past weekend, and the problem with Fox 6 XETV was a big topic of discussion;  they say X Games are not "real" sports, and refuse to show them, although they show things like bed racing, wife carrying, cell phone throwing and watermelon seed spitting contests, competitive eating, and every imaginable Red Bull stunt event for around the world - all within their sports segments.  Yet, their sports producer tells viewers that  X Games are concocted publicity for ESPN, and not "real" sports, so they don't deserve time in sports.   We've begun a campaign of action to change the future.

I've had great feedback, and I can provide details of this ongoing case to you in a personal email or BallHype private message.  Here is some basic contact information on the station.  Anyone wishing to have documentation in the history of this case or the direct email contacts sent to you, reply to me personally in a private message.  I will be happy to work with you on this.

FOX 6 (XETV-TV) San Diego
Bay City Television
8253 Ronson Road
San Diego CA 92111

Phone: (858) 279-6666
News Fax: (858) 279-0061

Sports Director CS Keys cskeys@fox6.com , his boss is the News Director Tauna Lange taunal@fox6.com , her boss is the station's GM Richard Doutre-Jones rdj@fox6.com (XETV is a FOX network affiliate, owned by Televisa)

If you are sending a formal complaint, it is suggested that you also send a copy to my local coalition, the San Diego eXtreme Sport Coalition xsportscoalitionsd@yahoo.com . We will be having some meetings on this issue soon, so if you are in San Diego and would like to attend, please write to the latter address for that. 

Local experts on broadcast TV regulations tell me unanimously that they believe the XETV news department may be violating numerous laws regarding serving the public, their specific viewerss, and the local San Diego community at large.  

This is a three year battle that needs to end.