| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Thursday, February 14, 2002
4:00pm ET | |
| • | Salt Lake City Winter Games: Ratings, Schedules & Additional Links |
| • | IOC To Announce John Hancock's TOP Partnership Renewal |
| • | Poor Weather Conditions Rearrange Games Schedules, Delay Events |
| • | NHL Renews Partnership Agreement With Labatt Breweries |
| • | A's Give Fans A Sneak Peak At Anticipated '02 Ad Campaign |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/In Other News/Articles of Interest/Channel Surfing |
THE SALT LAKE CITY WINTER GAMES, DAY 7: RATINGS & EVENTS
The following presents a day-by-day Nielsen ratings trend for the Winter Olympic Games.
| '02 | '98 | % +/- |
| Opening Ceremony | 25.5/42 | 17.1/29 | 49% |
| 2nd Day | 17.1/30 | 12.3/22 | 39% |
| 3rd Day | 17.6/27 | 20.2/30 | -13% |
| 4th Day | 19.6/30 | 14.8/23 | 32% |
| 5th Day | 18.5/29 | 18.2/30 | 2% |
| 6th Day | 17.5/28 | 15.3/24 | 14% |
|
| Cumulative | 19.5/31 | 16.4/26 | 19% |
| TOP MARKETS | RAT/SHR |
| Salt Lake City | 34.4/57 |
| Portland, OR | 26.0/40 |
| Seattle | 25.9/41 |
| Denver | 25.1/36 |
| Sacramento | 24.0/37 |
NBC's six-day primetime nightly average stands at a 19.5/31, a 19% increase over CBS' Nagano six-day average of 16.4/26 (THE DAILY).
IOC TO ANNOUNCE JOHN HANCOCK'S RENEWAL OF TOP PARTNERSHIP
The SportsBusiness Journal's Andy Bernstein reports from Salt Lake City that the IOC today will announce a contract signing that states John Hancock Mutual Life & Financial Services has renewed its TOP partnership. John Hancock CEO David D'Alessandro flew to Salt Lake City for the signing. John Hancock has been a TOP partner since '94, and has category exclusivity in the life insurance/annuities category (THE DAILY).
WEATHER CONDITIONS FORCE SCHEDULE CHANGES, DELAYS
Poor visibility and high winds at the top of the downhill course "prompted the race jury to reverse the order of Thursday's women's Olympic Alpine skiing combined event." This is the first time at an Olympics that the downhill and slalom runs of the combined are held the same day. High winds at the UT Olympic Park "also caused the ski jumping section for the Nordic combined … to be put back" (REUTERS, 2/14).
REPORTER'S COMPROMISING POSITION COSTS HIM A ROOM
A reporter for Quebec's Le Soleil was "thrown out of his hotel by police following an embarrassing incident" last Friday morning. François Gagnon, who was naked at the time, "took two steps out of his hotel room to retrieve his morning paper at 4 a.m., only to have the door close behind him, locking him out of his room." Hotel officials did not find the situation amusing, though, as they accused Gagnon of being drunk. Gagnon was told to "return to his room, pack up his stuff and wait for police." Gagnon: "Things are so stiff around here, and I understand that, but I told them I have nothing to hide." Gagnon had to "find a new hotel, at $350 a night, $100 more than his previous lodgings" (NATIONAL POST, 2/12).
Read today's Olympic Articles of Interest.
Who do you think is having the best Olympics so far? Cast your vote at The Daily Poll.
Click on the buttons below for additional Olympic links:
WEB SURFERS CAN NET ADVANCED PEEK AT ATP'S "DEUCE"
DEUCE, the official magazine of the ATP, is scheduled to hit newsstands next week, but fans can purchase it now online at ATPTENNIS.com. The ATP published the annual magazine with new publishing partner Profile Media. The inaugural issue features advertising from ESPN, Mercedes-Benz, Target, Lotto, Fila, Club Med, Tanqueray, Yonex, Wilson, adidas and Pacific Life (THE DAILY).
NHL STAYS TRUE BLUE WITH LABATT BREWERIES
Labatt Breweries has renewed partnership agreements with the NHL and the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. The five-year NHL deal positions Labatt Blue as the league's official beer sponsor in Canada and gives Labatt the right to use NHL trademarks in brand communications both in Canada and internationally (THE DAILY).
KIRCH WON'T TAKE ECCLESTONE FORMULA 1 OFFER SERIOUSLY
BLOOMBERG NEWS reports that KirchHoldings said that it would not "let Bernie Ecclestone buy back its stake in Formula One motor racing after a newspaper reported he would offer [$697M] for it." Kirch spokesperson Hartmut Schultz: "We haven't received an offer yet, and wouldn't take it seriously if we do." Ecclestone owns 25% of SLEC, a holding company that controls F-1 (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 2/14).
SEAHAWKS PUSH BACK UNVEILING OF NEW UNIFORMS
The SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER reports that the unveiling of the Seahawks' new uniforms, scheduled for next Wednesday, has been postponed. The logo and colors "might be introduced next week, but the unveiling of the uniform has been pushed back to March" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 2/14).
BUZZER BEATERS
JUST-STYLE.com reports that Puma AG announced today its "pre-tax profit for 2001 more than doubled," and that the company "expects double-digit growth in sales and earnings in 2002." The company said in a statement its pre-tax earnings climbed to $50.1M, thanks to "positive developments" in Q4 and strong growth in U.S. and western European markets. The company also "is sponsoring four teams at this summer's soccer World Cup in Japan and South Korea, which it expects will bring a double-digit rise in sales and earnings" (JUST-STYLE.com, 2/14).
More than 2,000 season tickets have been sold for the MLS Fire games at Cardinal Stadium in Naperville, IL. The tickets went on sale two weeks ago, and the team is on pace for a record rate of renewal, as well as a record for total sales (THE DAILY).
Boston sportscaster Bob Neumeier, a veteran sports anchor and reporter for WBZ-CBS, has been chosen to co-host WEEI-AM's mid-day sports talk show with Dale Arnold. The new show, entitled "The Dale & Neumie Show," debuted today at 1:00pm ET (THE DAILY).
Minor League Baseball sent a check for $50,000 on Wednesday to the Twin Towers Fund to be used for the benefit of families involved in the September 11 attacks (THE DAILY).
OLYMPIC ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH's Thomas Lee on Olympic sponsors' goals of targeting younger audiences during the Games.
The WASHINGTON POST's Hank Stuever on the abundance of corporate logos and company representatives at the Games.
The WASHINGTON TIMES' Thom Loverro on the need for a public referendum to decide if Washington and Baltimore want to host the 2012 Games.
The BOSTON GLOBE's Michael Smith on Vermonters celebrating the success of local athletes at the Games.
The Baltimore SUN's Candus Thomson on the inability of financially strapped countries to ever host the Games.
TODAY'S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
USA TODAY's Theresa Howard on toymakers limiting the number of new licensing deals and choosing to focus on key brands like Pokemon or Barbie.
The DALLAS MORNING NEWS' Gary West on consolidation in the horse track industry.
The WASHINGTON POST's Dave Sheinin on the future of the "lame duck" Expos.
CBS SportsLine's Mike Kahn on the Mavericks' turnaround from being considered "tired and poor" to being envied.
USA TODAY's Roscoe Nance on the NBA's success with black coaches and front office execs.
ESPN.com's Jerry Bonkowski on "great strides" NASCAR has made in upgrading its safety policies.
See The Daily Insider's Articles Of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
TONIGHT'S EVENTS
The A's will release "a second season of their irreverent commercials" for the '02 season on Friday, but fans can get a sneak preview of the spots at OaklandAthletics.com beginning this afternoon (MLB.com, 2/4).
The PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS reports that veteran TV game-show host Bob Eubanks "will be the official witness at halftime [tonight] as 76 couples exchange wedding vows at halftime" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 2/13).
IN OTHER NEWS……
The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES reports that the Huntley (IL) high school and middle school "will drop the team nickname" Redskins because it violates a "federal court settlement set to be approved today," the latest development in a national debate over American Indian team names (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 2/14).
THE DAILY STATS: BILLBOARD CHARTS
The following lists Billboard Magazine's top-selling CDs for the week ending February 7 (BILLBOARD, 2/16):
| RK | ALBUM | ARTIST | LABEL |
| 1) | J To Tha L-O! The Remixes | Jennifer Lopez | Epic |
| 2) | Drive | Alan Jackson | Arista Nashville |
| 3) | Ultimate Manilow | Barry Manilow | BMG Heritage |
| 4) | Weathered | Creed | Wind-up |
| 5) | [Hybrid Theory] | Linkin Park | Warner Bros. |
| 6) | Word of Mouf | Ludacris | Disturbing Tha Peace |
| 7) | Silver Side Up | Nickelback | Roadrunner |
| 8) | Pain is Love | Ja Rule | Murder Inc. |
| 9) | M!ssundaztood | Pink | Arista |
| 10) | Lovers Live | Sade | Epic |
CHANNEL SURFING
CNBC will air Winter Olympics coverage – Curling and Women's Ice Hockey – at 6:00pm ET.
ESPN will air men's college basketball: NC State-Duke at 7:00pm ET, and Notre Dame-Rutgers at 9:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air the '02 AHL All-Star Game at 7:00pm ET.
NBC will air Winter Olympics coverage – Alpine Skiing, Figure Skating, Snowboarding and Speed Skating – at 8:00pm ET.
TNT will air Wizards-Kings at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile Don Larsen at 8:00pm ET.
NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield will be on ESPN's "Unscripted."
NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be on FSN's "The Last Word."
Titans RB Eddie George will be on FSN's "The Best Damn Sports Show Period."
Russian Gold Medal figure skaters Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze will be interviewed on CNN's "Larry King Live" at 9:00pm ET.
NBC's "The Olympic Tonight Show" with Jay Leno will feature Silver Medal skier Bode Miller and Sheryl Crow.
Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban will be on CBS's "Late Late Show" with Craig Kilborn.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight's headline guests on the following talk shows:
| "The Late Show" | Calista Flockhart |
| "The Tonight Show" | Denzel Washington |
| "The Late Late Show" | Kevin Sorbo |
| "Late Night" | Pre-Empted |
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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