Fitch Gives MLB 'A' Credit Facility Rating

Fitch Ratings affirms the 'A' rating assigned to Major League Baseball's (MLB's) $1.4 billion league-wide revenue-backed securitization facility. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The facility, Major League Baseball Trust, currently consists of the following:--$853 million variable funding notes,--$389 million series-1 term notes;--$125 million series-2 term notes. On Dec. 15, 2008, $125 million of series-2 term notes were issued and rated 'A'. The series-2 term note proceeds were used to partially pay down the outstanding $978 million variable funding notes resulting with the overall leverage of the Trust remaining unchanged. The ratings on the existing series-1 term notes and the variable funding notes were affirmed at 'A'.All the notes in the Trust rank pari-passu and are secured by, among other things, rights to receive certain payments shared among MLB clubs, including, primarily, telecast and radio broadcast revenues from national and international ...