News Corp. is weighing a bid for the bankrupt Texas Rangers, The Post has learned.
The media giant, which owned the LA Dodgers from 1998 to 2004, hasn’t decided whether it will bid at Wednesday’s bankruptcy court auction, but is said to be leaning toward making an offer, sources close to the situation said.
Bidding for the suddenly resurgent baseball franchise will begin at $307 million, but a winning bid may be $100 million higher — or more.
It could not be learned if News Corp., whose Fox Sports Southwest unit owns television rights to the team, would bid independently or as part of a group.
There are several other potential bidders, including a group led by Hall of Famer and Rangers team president Nolan Ryan and a group led by Mark Cuban, the owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.
Cuban, who tried unsuccessfully to buy the Chicago Cubs, is attracted to the Rangers team because it would allow him to create a regional sports network to broadcast both Mavericks and Rangers games, according to one source.
He could also put the games on HDNet, the high-definition cable network he controls, the source added. Fox Sports Southwest, one of the division’s regional cable channels, carries Rangers, Mavericks and Dallas Stars hockey games.
Although the contract doesn’t expire for another four years, Fox doesn’t want to risk losing the Rangers TV rights, sources said.
Fox pays the Rangers about $35 million a year to broadcast their games, according to a source. That figure could go much higher given the first-place team’s rising popularity and ratings, he said.
By acquiring the Rangers, which sources said could fetch around $550 million in the court-ordered auction on Wednesday, News Corp. could save itself enough in broadcasting fees that the team would pay for itself in little over a decade.
“It is kind of silly not to buy them,” one source said. A Fox spokesman declined comment. (News Corp. owns Fox Sports and The Post.)
Many baseball teams, including the Rangers, and locally the Mets, lose money. But outlets owned by these teams make high profits from broadcasting the games.
The Ryan group, which also includes Pittsburgh sports lawyer Chuck Greenberg and Texan energy magnate Ray Davis, earlier tried to buy the company in a pre-packaged bankruptcy.
But the team’s lenders believed it was a sweetheart deal and asked the judge to hold an open auction where the highest bid could prevail. Under Major League Baseball bylaws, owners have to approve any deal.