Closing Bell, March 29 2004

NFL TODAY RELEASES NATIONAL TV SCHEDULE FOR OPENING WEEKEND

TheNFL today released the national TV schedule for the opening weekend of the’04-05 season.  For the third straightseason, the NFL opens on a Thursday night, this year with Colts-Patriots.  The following details the opening weekend TVschedule:

Todayat the annual owners meeting in Palm Beach, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabuesaid of the status of NFL TV rights, “We expect to have intensive negotiations with ourcurrent network partners on the possibility of extending their contracts.  With direction from our Broadcast Committee,we are focused on maintaining our very successful team and fan friendlynational television arrangements, but we are prepared to adapt to dramaticallychanging technology and the evolving multi-channel world” (NFL).

FOX TODAY UNVEILS BROADCAST SCHEDULE FOR ’04 MLB SEASON

Foxtoday announced its ’04 MLB broadcast schedule, which begins Friday, April 16with Yankees-Red Sox at 8:00pm ET.  Thenet’s “Saturday Baseball Game of the Week” schedule begins May 22 withDodgers-Braves or Cardinals-Cubs at 1:00pm ET, or Yankees-Rangers orD’Backs-Marlins at 4:00pm ET.  TheSaturday slate includes 60 games over 18 weeks.  The final two Saturdays of the regular season are designated as“wild card” dates, allowing Fox to choose up to eight games of its choice (Fox).

JOHN McENROE’S NEW TALK SHOW TO PREMIERE WEDNESDAY, JULY 7

CNBCtoday announced that John McEnroe’s new primetime talk show will becalled “McEnroe,” and will premiere Wednesday, July 7, at 10:00pm ET.  The show will feature original installmentsMonday through Thursday, with repeats on Friday.  The net also announced that John Fugelsang, most recentlyof “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” will be a nightly contributor (CNBC).

MULTICHANNELNEWS reports that the launch was pushed to July “to maximize promotionalleverage from NBC Sports coverage” of the French Open and Wimbledon.  McEnroe will serve as an analyst for bothevents (MULTICHANNEL NEWS, 3/29).

ESPN TO OFFER PREMIERE HD TELECAST OF “SPORTSCENTER” JUNE 7

ESPNtoday announced that the ESPN Digital Center, a 120,000 square-foot high-defcenter, will begin operation June 7 with the premiere high-def telecast of“SportsCenter” (ESPN).

Meanwhile,the Academy of Digital Television Pioneers today awarded ESPN HD the Award ofDistinction for its education and promotion of HDTV at the Consumer ElectronicsAssociation’s Eighth Annual HDTV Summit in DC (ESPN).

BUZZER BEATERS

TheCHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL reports that Domino’s Pizza has “signed an agreementto be an associate sponsor of the [NASCAR-sponsored] Drive for Diversityprogram, which is managed by Charlotte-based Access Marketing &Communications.”  Five drivers have beenselected for the program and will compete in at least 18 NASCAR Dodge WeeklySeries races this year (BIZJOURNALS.com,3/29).

TheMarlins today released their new Hispanic anthem, “Vienen al son,” which willbe used as a promotional tool for Spanish-language TV and radio spots.  Produced in association with MLB and Sony,the song is part of the team’s Hispanic marketing initiative (Marlins).

TheL.A. Sports & Entertainment Commission today announced that Delta Air Linesand Enterprise Rent-A-Car have signed on as official marketing partners (LASEC).

ESPN.comsports business reporter Darren Rovell was honored today as one ofNewsBios’ “30 Under 30 Rising Stars,” an award given to the best youngjournalists who impact business news. Rovell is the first sports journalist to be honored (ESPN).

TheDETROIT FREE PRESS notes that the PBA plans to announce this week that it will“let women attempt to qualify for its national tour.  But the women will have to follow the same qualifying pathnonexempt male bowlers do” (DETROIT FREEPRESS, 3/29).

TSNtoday launches a three-week radio and four-week outdoor billboard campaign,components of an integrated marketing campaign entitled “What’s Your PlayoffRitual?”  The on-air component, whichhas already begun, includes five 15-second TV spots airing on CTV, TSN, OLN,Discovery Channel, The Comedy Network, ESPN Classic Canada and NHL Network (TSN).

ESPNRadio today will begin airing an on-air promotional spot on ESPN, ESPN2,ESPNews and ESPN Classic that features grade-school students on the playgrounddebating hot topics of the day as learned on ESPN Radio (ESPN).

SportsTickertoday announced that San Diego-based fantasy content provider KFFL willcontinue to provide it with fantasy baseball content (SportsTicker).

TONIGHT’S EVENTS

TheS.F. chapter of the National Sports Marketing Network will host a 6:00pm PTpanel discussion, “Build It And They Will Come: The Future Of New Facilities& Naming Rights In The Bay Area,” at the Hyatt Regency S.F.  Sports Business Simulations Chair & CEO ZennieAbraham will moderate a panel that includes MLB Giants Exec VP & COO LarryBaer, BRC Group Partner Richard Copeland, S.F. Arena DevelopersManaging Partner Martin Harris, Oakland City Council President IgnacioDe La Fuente and SOMO Partners Partner Jan Soderstrom.

Thelast two weeks of filming for “Friday Night Lights,” the movie based on the H.G.Bissinger novel of the same name, begins at the Astrodome.  The scene is the state championship betweenthe Permian Panthers and the Carter Cowboys. The film is scheduled for nationwide release October 15 (DALLASMORNING NEWS, 3/17).

ArnieSpanierreturns to Sporting News Radio with “The Arnie Spanier Show” from 7:00-10:00pmET.  Spanierreplaces “Papa” Joe Chevalier (Sporting News Radio).

CHANNEL SURFING

ESPNwill air the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament: Penn State-UConn at 7:00pm ET and Georgia-LSU at 9:00pm.

ESPN2will air Wild-Red Wings at 7:00pmET.

TheGolf Channel will air first-round coverage of the inaugural Tavistock Cup at 7:30pm ET.  The event matches PGA Tour players who areresidents of Florida development Isleworth against those of Lake Nona.

ProFootball HOFer Eric Dickerson, LPGA golfer Rosie Jones, Raptors GJalen Rose, Lakers G Gary Payton and The Rock arescheduled to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”

Sugar Shane Mosley will appear on Fox's "The Bernie Mac Show" at 8:00pm ET.

NBA TVwill air T’Wolves-Rockets at 8:30pmET.

ESPNClassic’s “SportsCentury” debuts the profile of Rick Pitino at 8:30pm ET.

PBSwill air the first installment of “TheNew Americans,” a documentary thatfollows five sets of immigrants, including prospective MLBers Jose Garcia and Ricardo Rodriquez, at 9:00pm ET.

ESPN2will air coverage of the ATP’s Nasdaq-100 Open at 9:30pm ET.

DodgersGM Paul De Podesta and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will appear onCNBC’s “Dennis Miller” at 9:00pm ET.

ESPN’s“OTL Nightly” will examine the decline of the Blackhawks and the NHL’s loomingwork stoppage at midnight ET.

E!’s“True Hollywood Story” will profile TaraReid at 8:00pm ET.

HEADLINERS

 Here are tonight’s headline guests on thefollowing talk shows:

TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

TheCHICAGO SUN-TIMES’ Martha Mendoza writes, “Mexican professional soccer – inever-increasing exhibition matches – is drawing dependable crowds, cash, and a passionatesoccer culture inside the United States while [MLS] still is trying to securea foothold in mainstream America. … Now soccer promoters on both sides of theborder are pursuing a new strategy: targeting the almost 40 million Latinos inthe United States, especially the 9 million recent immigrants among them” (CHICAGOSUN-TIMES).

JeffreyKessler, anattorney for Dewey Ballantine, which is representing the NIT in its antitrustlitigation against the NCAA, writes in the N.Y. TIMES, “The NCAA changed itsrules so that all schools invited to its tournament would be requiredto boycott the NIT under the pain of NCAA penalties, and combined that rulewith a major expansion of the NCAA tournament field to 64 teams from 32.  The result is that each year the NIT, or anyother tournament that may try to enter the market, is prevented from competingfor any of the best teams in the country” (N.Y. TIMES).

TheMILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL’s Michael Hunt writes of Bucks Owner & U.S. Sen.Herb Kohl (D-WI), “The political climate may never again beright for a taxpayer-funded facility, and that’s a good thing.  It is therefore inevitable that the BradleyCenter eventually will merge with the Wisconsin Center District, which has thepower to hit outsiders with fees on hotel rooms and rental cars.  That seems to be a popular way to raisemoney these days, but it’s still a tax. In the private realm, there is one person who could eventually help pullthis thing off, the same man who loved his franchise so much that he snatchedit back from Michael Jordan at the 11^th hour” (MILWAUKEEJOURNAL SENTINEL).

• Columnist believes having A’s move to South Bay would be a boost to MLB.
• One columnist opposes regular-season MLB games in Japan.
• Six Canadian NHL clubs are eyeing playoffs, resulting financial rewards.
• Profile of NASCAR’s Richmond-based ad agency, The Martin Agency.