| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | MLB Today Formally Announces 22-Game Puerto Rico Schedule For Expos |
| • | Satellite Operator Eutelsat Today Becomes ’06 Turin Olympics Official Sponsor |
| • | AHL To Carry Out Limited Neutral-Zone Ice Markings Test At Request Of NHL |
| • | N.Y.-Based Ad Agency Today Announces Launch Of Sports Marketing Firm |
| • | Dante Hall On The “Hot Seat” During ESPN’s “SportsCenter” At 6:00pm ET |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
EXPOS TO PLAY 22 GAMES IN PUERTO RICO OVER THREE HOMESTANDS
MLBtoday formally announced that the Expos will play 22 games at Hiram BithornStadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, over three separate homestands during the ’04season. The following details theExpos’ schedule in Puerto Rico:
| Dates | Opponent |
| April 9-11 | Mets |
| April 13-15 | Marlins |
| May 18-20 | Brewers |
| May 21-23 | Giants |
| July 2-4 | Blue Jays |
| July 5-7 | Braves |
| July 8-11 | Pirates |
EUTELSAT TO PROVIDE 50 VIDEO CHANNELS TO TOROC DURING GAMES
Satelliteoperator Eutelsat today announced that it is an official sponsor of the ’06Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Eutelsat will provide TOROC with a package of 50 video channels that willbe broadcast to competition sites, Olympic Villages and Media Villages to keeppeople abreast of live events coverage, and to access broadcasts from int’ltelevision channels (Eutelsat).
AHL TO CARRY OUT NEUTRAL ZONE TEST AT REQUEST OF NHL
TheAHL today announced that, at the request of the NHL, it will carry out alimited test involving revisions to the neutral-zone ice markings, in an effortto evaluate the impact of an enlarged neutral zone on the offensive flow of thegame. The design of the test is suchthat it will not impact the competitive results within the league, as fourteams will compete with these markings only against each other, in a total ofeight games (AHL).
MEDIA BUYER BELIEVES JOE HORN WILL NOT LAND WIRELESS DEAL
TSDMarketing’s Tom DeCabia appeared on ESPN2’s “Cold Pizza” this morning todiscuss Saints WR Joe Horn’s endorsement potential in light of his cellphone antics and subsequent NFL fine. Decabia: “It’s dead. That’s aone-time only stunt. I don’t see a lotof advertisers going after him. Thecontroversy is just too hot right now. … These kind of stunts just do not workfor advertisers” (“Cold Pizza,” ESPN2, 12/17).
BUZZER BEATERS
SportingNews this week offers two covers. Thenational cover features Oklahoma DE Tommie Harris and LSU DT ChadLavalais, with the header, “One Lump Or Two? … Breaking Down A Kick-ButtMatchup In The Sugar Bowl.” A regionalcover for the western states features USC DL Mike Patterson and DE KenechiUdeze, with the header, “1 And Lonely.”
SportsIllustrated this week features Colts QB Peyton Manning on the cover,with the header, “In Charge … Peyton Manning, On Top Of His Game, Pushes TheColts To The Playoffs.”
| | |
| Sporting News | Sports Illustrated |
Horizon Productions today announced that it has secured the L.A.Memorial Coliseum as the venue for Lingerie Bowl 2004 (Horizon Productions).
TheAP reports that a Bulgarian court today “dismissed an extradition case againstKorean national John Kim after U.S. prosecutors sought to drop chargesagainst him related” to the SLOC bribery trial. The court also released Kim from house arrest (AP,12/17).
ESPNtoday announced that Michele LaFountain, Heriberto Murrieta, FernandoPalomo and Jorge Eduardo Sanchez Perez will anchor ESPN Deportes’“SportsCenter,” which debuts with the network’s launch on January 7 (ESPN).
N.Y.-basedad agency Cossette Post today announced the launch of sports marketing firmThinking Sports, a joint venture with newly appointed Chief Creative Officer RobertReiser and former Octagon Marketing NA President Mark Bingham (CossettePost).
USATODAY reports that Brazilian soccer clubs “have voted to increase ticket pricesfor next season, with club directors openly admitting they are trying toattract a more elite public.” The clubsagreed to “set minimum ticket prices for next season’s Brazilian championshipand to fine any club that breaks the rules by offering discounts” (USATODAY, 12/17).
Cincinnatiwill host the U.S. Specialty Sports Association Festival of Sports in July2006. Competing sports includebaseball, basketball, fast-pitch softball, slow-pitch softball, soccer andvolleyball (Greater Cincinnati Sports Corp.).
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
Theinaugural Premios Fox Sports, an awards show designed to honor the achievementsof U.S. Hispanic and Latin American athletes, will be held in Miami. The event will be televised Sunday. Sponsors include GM, Sears, Johnnie Walker,Miller Beer, Konica, adidas, American Airlines, McDonald’s and Pennzoil.
CHANNEL SURFING
ChiefsKR Dante Hall will be on the “Hot Seat” during ESPN’s “SportsCenter” at 6:00pm ET.
ESPNClassic’s “SportsCentury” will profile the year 1989 at 7:00pm ET and PeteRozelle at 8:00pm.
ESPN2will air NCAA men’s basketball: Princeton-Dukeat 7:30pm ET.
ESPNwill air Mavericks-Celtics at 8:00pmET.
ProFootball HOFer Eric Dickerson,Saints WR Joe Horn, N.Y. Postcolumnist Peter Vecsey and ChicagoSun-Times columnist Richard Roeperare scheduled to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”
TheGolf Channel will air the “All-Jake Team,” featuring Peter Jacobsen and MattGriesser awarding top honors to the best and worst of golf in 2003 at8:00pm ET.
NFLNetwork’s condensed “Game of the Week” features Browns-Broncos at 9:00pm ET.
ESPN2will air Wild-Avalanche at 9:30pmET.
HBOwill air “Inside the NFL” at 10:00pmET.
ESPN’s“OTL Nightly” will examine the roles of Red Sox Owner John Henry,President Larry Lucchino and GM Theo Epstein in the team’soff-season success at midnight ET.
Charles Barkley will be on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno at11:35pm ET.
DetroitFree Press columnist Mitch Albomwill be on CBS’ “The Late Late Show”with Craig Kilborn at 12:35am ET.
A&E’s“Biography” will profile Patty Duke at8:00pm ET.
E!’s“True Hollywood Story” will profile RockStar Daughters at 8:00pm ET.
ABCwill air “Barbara Walters: 10 MostFascinating People of 2003” at 9:00pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Hereare tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Neve Campbell |
| “The Tonight Show” | Charles Barkley |
| “The Late Late Show” | Aaron Eckhart |
| “Late Night” | Elijah Wood |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | George Lopez |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
TheFT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM’s Mitchell Schnurman writes of MLB Rangers Owner TomHicks, “It only makes sense to cut the Rangers’ spending down to size, to alevel where the revenue might cover expenses. It would be different if the Rangers were aplayer or two from contending. Then youcould argue for busting the budget and spending extra to build the brand” (FT.WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM).
The WASHINGTON TIMES’ Thom Loverro writes of the Orioles signingSS Miguel Tejada, “It does not follow the trend for success in baseball’s new financialera – payroll flexibility. Ideally, ifyou are going to commit that much money and that many years to a player, youwould like it to be one of your own, a player the fans have grown toidentify as part of the franchise. The more you commit and the longer you commit to a free agent coming in,the less money you have available down the road if a Luis Matos or LarryBigbie turns into a big-time player and becomes a free agent” (WASHINGTONTIMES).
The FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM’s Jennifer Floyd Engel writesof Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, “Yes, Jones is still around. You just have to search nowadays to find him. Which is odd considering how Jones has been the face of the Cowboysfor a couple of seasons. You couldn’tbe a Cowboys fan without seeing Jones, listening to Jones. It was all Jones, all the time, including agood portion of time in which he endured fans’ wrath for a subpar Cowboysseason” (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM).
- Bowl games throwingVirginia Tech for a loss.
- Atale of two Art Modells: Cleveland villain & Baltimore hero.
- Marketersdiscover Ravens’ once-embattled All-Pro LB Ray Lewis.
- Williams sisters’ domination is notgood for the development of the sport.
SeeThe Daily Insider’s Articles ofInterest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Mindbenders: What are the next threeletters in the following series: O T T F F S S?
IN OTHERNEWS……
TheN.Y. DAILY NEWS reports that Bloomberg TV is moving to E! after seven years onthe USA Network. The channel “leases athree-hour block starting at 5 a.m. weekdays from USA, and sells the commercialtime.” As of January 1, the channel “will do the same on E!, where it willreplace infomercials and ‘The E True Hollywood Story.’” The deal is valued at $30M over three years(N.Y.DAILY NEWS, 12/17).
TheAP reported that Motorola has selected former Sun Microsystems exec EdwardZander as its new Chair & CEO, succeeding Christopher Galvin,“who is retiring after frequent clashes with the company’s board” (AP, 12/16).
THE DAILY STAT: PRIMETIME NIELSEN RATINGS
Thefollowing lists the final Nielsen ratings for the top ten primetime shows forthe week of December 8-14. Alsoprovided are the weekly viewership averages for each net (USA TODAY, 12/17).
| RK | PROGRAM | NET | DAY | RAT/SHR | VIEWERS (IN MILLIONS) |
| 1) | CSI | CBS | Thu | 16.5/25 | 26.8 |
| 2) | Survivor: Finale | CBS | Sun | 13.0/19 | 25.2 |
| 3) | Survivor: Pearl Islands | CBS | Thu | 12.8/20 | 22.4 |
| 4) | Survivor: Reunion | CBS | Sun | 11.5/18 | 21.9 |
| 5) | ER | NBC | Thu | 12.7/21 | 19.7 |
| 6) | 60 Minutes | CBS | Sun | 11.9/18 | 18.8 |
| 7) | Average Joe | NBC | Mon | 11.1/17 | 17.4 |
| 8) | Trista & Ryan's Wedding | ABC | Wed | 11.8/18 | 17.1 |
| 9) | Without A Trace | CBS | Thu | 11.0/18 | 16.4 |
| 10) | Monday Night Football: Rams-Browns | ABC | Mon | 10.9/18 | 15.3 |
| space | |
| NET | VIEWERS |
| CBS | 13.7 |
| NBC | 11.2 |
| ABC | 9.5 |
| Fox | 7.7 |
| UPN | 3.0 |
| WB | 2.9 |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
E N T – They represent the firstletter of each word when writing the numbers 1-10.
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