| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Thursday, February 21, 2002
4:00pm ET | |
| • | Salt Lake City Winter Games: Ratings, Schedules & Additional Links |
| • | KISS Set To Rock The Closing Ceremony All Night, Party Every Day |
| • | FBI Will Analyze E-Mails Threatening Gold Medalist Apolo Anton Ohno |
| • | ESPN To Air Opening Game Of NCAA Tournament |
| • | DC's RFK Stadium To Play Host To '02 MLS All-Star Game |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/In Other News/Articles of Interest/Channel Surfing |
THE SALT LAKE CITY WINTER GAMES, DAY 14: 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% |
| 7th Day | 17.6/29 | 19.3/30 | -9% |
| 8th Day | 15.8/27 | 14.8/26 | 7% |
| 9th Day | 14.0/25 | 15.4/28 | -9% |
| 10th Day | 17.1/27 | 18.0/28 | -5% |
| 11th Day | 17.1/26 | 14.9/23 | 15% |
| 12th Day | 22.3/34 | 13.5/21 | 65% |
| 13th Day | 19.5/31 | 20.7/32 | -6% |
|
| Cumulative | 18.6/30 | 16.5/27 | 13% |
| |
NBC's 13-day primetime nightly average stands at a 18.6/30, a 13% increase over CBS' Nagano 13-day average of 16.5/27 (THE DAILY).
TONIGHT'S SCHEDULE ON NBC
TONIGHT'S SCHEDULE ON CNBC
SALT LAKE ROCK CITY? KISS TO CLOSE THE WINTER GAMES
KISS will perform at the Closing Ceremony in Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium on Sunday. The band's recently released "KISS: The Box Set" went gold within the first week, and is on its way to platinum (THE DAILY).
FBI TO INVESTIGATE THREATENING E-MAILS SENT TO OHNO
The USOC announced today that threatening e-mails regarding short-track speedskating Gold Medalist Apolo Anton Ohno "have been turned over to the FBI for investigation." The threats were received following Ohno's first Olympic event, when he won the Silver Medal after crashing near the finish line. Another 16,000 e-mails, mostly from sources in South Korea, "crashed the USOC's Internet server early Thursday for almost nine hours before it was restored." Ohno was awarded the Gold Medal in the 1500-meter after a South Korean skater was disqualified (AP, 2/21).
Read today's Olympic Articles of Interest.
Click on the buttons below for additional Olympic links:
LAWSUIT INVOLVING VIRTUAL INSERTION TECHNOLOGY SETTLED
Sportvision, Fox Sports Productions and Princeton Video Image (PVI) announced today that they have settled and moved to dismiss their patent litigation regarding virtual insertion technologies. Sportvision and Fox Sports Productions initiated the lawsuit in '99, alleging that PVI's virtual signage, first down line and other products infringed Fox/Sportvision patents. In '01, PVI counterclaimed against Sportvision, alleging that Sportvision's virtual strike zone and virtual signage products infringed a PVI patent. The parties have resolved the litigation by cross-licensing each other's patents. As a part of this settlement, PVI has agreed not to request or pursue an interference against the Fox/Sportvision patents (THE DAILY).
ESPN TO AIR NCAA TOURNAMENT'S OPENING GAME
The AP reports that ESPN is "getting back into the business of airing NCAA men's basketball tournament games a year earlier than expected." Under an agreement reached in July, ESPN was to begin televising the opening-round game in '03, but the network "will show the tournament's opening-round game … between the 64th- and 65th-seeded teams" on March 12th. CBS has the TV rights to all other games of the tournament (AP, 2/21).
MLS ALL-STAR GAME HEADS TO RFK STADIUM IN DC
MLS Exec VP Mark Noonan announced today that the league's All-Star Weekend and the '02 Pepsi MLS All-Star Game will be held at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. The game, scheduled for August 3, will be televised live on ABC at 3:30pm ET. MLS official sponsor Pepsi becomes the first-ever title sponsor of the league's All-Star festivities (THE DAILY).
TEMPLE SCHOLARSHIP TO BE FOUNDED IN CHANEY'S NAME
The PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS reports that former Temple basketball players and a "handful of anonymous, loyal Owls" will launch an endowed John Chaney Scholarship Foundation that will "provide Temple scholarships to needy children of ex-Temple basketball players." Sources note that $500,000 "has been committed and that the university is close to a formal announcement" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 2/21).
POTENTIAL ECHL FRANCHISE NOT SEEN AS THREAT TO THRASHERS
The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION reports that former minor league baseball exec Bill Davidson said on Wednesday that he is "closing in on a deal to bring an existing [ECHL] franchise to the area" for the '03-04 season when the Gwinnett Civic and Cultural Center is completed. He would not say which franchise he is trying to acquire, but said there is "more than one current ECHL market where a franchise is available." Davidson also does not think he'll have to "raid" the Thrashers' fan base for paying customers. Davidson: "I don't perceive the Thrashers to be competition for the minor league hockey team" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 2/21).
BUZZER BEATERS
iN DEMAND announced today that it will cover ATP events, beginning with the Siebel Open in San Jose, CA, on Saturday, March 2nd (THE DAILY).
84 Lumber Company has signed John Daly as a corporate spokesperson. The three-year deal can be extended for a fourth year at the company's option. Financial terms were not disclosed (THE DAILY).
The NTRA today announced that Delaware Park in Stanton, DE, has rejoined the association after a one-year membership hiatus. The Delaware Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, which has been an NTRA member since '98, also renewed its membership in the NTRA (THE DAILY).
The Corporate Ski Challenge in South Lake Tahoe, CA, on March 9 - part of the three-day Peregrine Systems Celebrity Winterfest - will attempt to raise more than $500,000 to support local Special Olympics athletes. Winterfest raises funds to underwrite Special Olympics Northern CA's annual Winter Games at Kirkwood, held the following week (THE DAILY).
The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that the WWF "is now trying to remake its image before another important audience, Wall Street, which it has befuddled ever since its initial public stock offering in 1999." WWF CEO Linda McMahon: "We are still wrestling with the question, 'Are we here for the long term or are we a fad?'" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/21).
Meanwhile, WWF reported third-quarter profits of $9.4M today, down nearly 20% from $11.7M for the same period a year ago. Net income for the three-month period ended January 25 was $0.13 per share, compared to $0.16 per share for the same period a year earlier (AP, 2/21).
OLYMPIC ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The N.Y. TIMES' Edward Wong on the comfortable atmosphere found in the Olympic Village.
The DESERET NEWS' Valerie Phillips on the wide variety of culinary delights available in the Olympic Village.
The S.F. CHRONICLE's John Crumpacker on Steve Young's role as the host of the Olympic Medals Plaza.
The DESERET NEWS' Lisa Riley Roche on the SLOC's plan to close up shop by the end of the year.
TODAY'S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER's Caulton Tudor on Nike's new golf clubs.
The N.Y. TIMES' David Carr on editorial promotions at People Magazine, In Style Magazine and Time, Inc.
The ORLANDO SENTINEL's Beth Kassab on the upscale Daytona Club, which lures affluent fans to NASCAR events.
The BOSTON HERALD's Scott Van Voorhis on the initial bid for the Red Sox offered by a Tom Werner-led group, and why it was rejected.
See The Daily Insider's Articles Of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
TONIGHT'S EVENTS
Former and current 49ers players and front office staff, including Bill Walsh, Keena Turner, Guy McIntyre and Derek Smith, will join Hedge Funds Care and the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare to sponsor the first annual "Open Your Heart to the Children Benefit." The event, which begins at 5:00pm PT at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, supports education, health care and youth development programs in Northern CA (THE DAILY).
IN OTHER NEWS….
Shares of American International Group (AIG) dropped more than 3% as "unsettling reports about the company spooked investors." AIG shares, which hit a low of $70.50 earlier in the day, were off 3.5% at $71.10 in midday trading on the NYSE. The stock was "hit by concerns about … comments from a top AIG executive predicting large liability losses in the insurance industry from a rash of shareholder lawsuits" (REUTERS, 2/21).
REUTERS reports that 'N Sync singer Lance Bass "will not become the world's first pop star in space." Bass' agents and commercial space exploration company Mircorp "had earlier expressed optimism the 22-year-old pop star would sign a $25 million deal for a seat on a Soyuz space taxi due to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) in October" (REUTERS, 2/21).
THE DAILY STATS: MAGAZINE CIRCULATION STATISTICS
The following details the most recent Audit Bureau of Circulation data for sports and golf titles for the six-month period ending December 31, 2001 (Medialifemagazine, 2/18):
SPORTS
TITLE/RATE
BASE (000) | ISSUES
IN PERIOD | SUBS (000) | % +/- | NEWS-
STAND
SALES
(000) | % +/- | TOTAL PAID
CIRC. (000) | % +/- |
| ESPN/1,250 | 13 | 1,359 | 21.3% | 53 | -4.5% | 1412 | 20.1% |
| SPORTING NEWS/600 | 27 | 610 | 19.6% | 20 | -19.6% | 630 | 17.7% |
| SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/3,150 | 25 | 3,123 | 0.2% | 83 | -7.2% | 3206 | 0.0% |
|
|
GOLF
TITLE/RATE
BASE (000) | ISSUES
IN PERIOD | SUBS (000) | % +/- | NEWS-
STAND
SALES
(000) | % +/- | TOTAL PAID
CIRC. (000) | % +/- |
| GOLF DIGEST/1,550 | 6 | 1,422 | 0.5% | 145 | -1.5% | 1568 | 0.3% |
| GOLF FOR WOMEN/378 | 3 | 359 | 2.3% | 23 | 35.9% | 381 | 3.8% |
| GOLF/1,400 | 6 | 1,306 | 1.3% | 95 | -18.2% | 1400 | -0.3% |
| GOLF WORLD/N/A | 21 | 151 | 2.1% | N/A | N/A | 151 | 2.1% |
| |
CHANNEL SURFING
CNBC will air Women's Ice Hockey Gold Medal game, U.S.-Canada, at 6:00pm ET.
ESPN will air men's college basketball: Minnesota-Michigan St. at 7:00pm ET, and Duke-Wake Forest at 9:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air men's college basketball, Syracuse-Seton Hall, at 7:30pm ET.
NBC will air Alpine Skiing, Women's Figure Skating, Men's Giant Slalom and Nordic Combined at 8:00pm ET.
TNT will air Kings-Spurs at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile former pro golfer Bobby Jones at 8:00pm ET.
Hornets G Baron Davis and 76ers C Dikembe Mutombo will be on FSN's "The Last Word."
E!'s "True Hollywood Story" will profile the TV show "Diff'rent Strokes" at 8:00pm ET.
Fox will air "Glutton Bowl: The World's Greatest Eating Competition" at 8:00pm ET.
U.S. aerials Silver Medalist Joe Pack and Australian aerials Gold Medalist Alisa Camplin will be on NBC's "The Olympic Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.
U.S. downhill skier Jonny Moseley will be on CBS' "Late Show" with David Letterman.
SI Swimsuit Issue cover model Yamila Diaz-Rahi 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" | Halle Berry |
| "The Tonight Show" | Bill Maher |
| "The Late Late Show" | Mike O'Malley |
| "Late Night" | Pre-Empted |
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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