| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Monday, June 7, 2004
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | ESPN Tonight To Debut Digital Center With HD “SportsCenter” Telecast |
| • | Marion Jones Responds Today To IOC President Jacques Rogge’s Comments |
| • | Flames, Lightning To Play Deciding Game Of Stanley Cup Finals Tonight |
| • | CBS’ Final-Round Coverage Of PGA Tour Memorial Earns 4.2/9 Overnight |
| • | Kellogg Expected To Exit Title Sponsorship Of Chicago LPGA Tournament |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
ESPN DEBUTING $100M DIGITAL CENTER WITH 11:00PM ET “SPORTSCENTER”
ESPNwill debut its new 120,000-square-foot Digital Center tonight with the first HD“SportsCenter” telecast at 11:00pm ET. Included in the 5,000-square-foot studio portion of the facility is an18-foot video tower, three broadcast desks, 12 HD projectors and 11 LCDscreens. SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNALreported that the facility cost nearly $100M to build (SPORTSBUSINESSJOURNAL, 5/31 issue).
BROADCASTING& CABLE reported that the set “incorporates 5,000fiber-optic lights in the floor and flashes them in sync with new‘SportsCenter’ theme music” (BROADCASTING& CABLE, 5/31 issue).
ESPNVP/Strategic Planning & Development Bryan Burns: “Next year at thistime, 60% of the 24-hour day will be full HDTV. We will start to fill it in very rapidly now” (MULTICHANNEL.com,6/7).
Meanwhile,Cablevision today announced a carriage agreement with ESPN HD, which willbecome available to Cablevision iO customers this week (Cablevision).
MARION JONES RESPONDS TO IOCPRESIDENT JACQUES ROGGE
WhileIOC President Jacques Rogge said of Marion Jones’ connection tothe steroid scandal, “She is today technically innocent. But ultimately, she has to ask herselfsomething about the perception that people might have,” Jones today said, “It'san extremely ignorant comment of him to make not knowing the circumstances andnot knowing the situation. I think it'squite ignorant for a man in such a power position” (AP,6/7).
NHL SEES THIRD SEVEN-GAME FINAL INFOUR SEASONS TONIGHT
TheFlames and Lightning square off tonight in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finalsat 8:00pm ET on ABC marking the third time in four seasons the NHL’schampionship series has gone the limit. Last year’s Mighty-Ducks Game Seven earned a 5.8/9 Overnight Nielsenrating, while the ’01 Devils-Avalanche clincher earned a 5.6/11 overnight (THEDAILY).
TENNIS MAGAZINE WIMBLEDON EXPERIENCE TO RETURN TO N.Y.
TennisMagazine today announced that the second British Airways presents the TennisMagazine Wimbledon Experience will take place at Grand Central Terminal’sVanderbilt Hall from June 22-24. Seating and oversized monitors will allow fans to watch Wimbledonmatches for free on a replica grass playing surface featuring royal guards andivy walls. Rolex also will sponsor theevent (Tennis Magazine).
TennisMagazine Publisher Jeff Williams: “This really does give [sponsors] away to leverage the relationship they have with the tournament as it’s going onin London, and bring it to life for an American audience” (SPORTSBUSINESSJOURNAL, 6/7 issue).
P&G SPONSORING NOPI DRAGRACING ASSOCIATION WITH MR. CLEAN
TheNOPI Drag Racing Association today announced a sponsorship and licensingagreement with Procter & Gamble, under which P&G’s Mr. Clean AutoDryCarwash brand becomes the official carwash product of the NDRA and NOPINationals. NOPI’s trademarks willappear on P&G’s Mr. Clean AutoDry packages. Additionally, Mr. Clean AutoDry will sponsor the September 18-19NOPI Nationals Motorsports Supershow at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Mr. Clean AutoDry will also receive signageat all races, logos on all NDRA materials and in-race announcements (NOPI).
SEALY TODAY SIGNS 12 OLYMPIC HOPEFULS TO ENDORSEMENT DEALS
USOC supplier Sealy today announced that it has signedsponsorship agreements with 12 athletes who will be featured as part of its"Sealy Supports America's Best" program. The program in select trade advertising and in a specialmicro-site on its Sealy.com website beginning later this summer (Sealy). The athletes are
| Athlete | Sport |
| Amy Acuff | Track & Field |
| Catherine Reddick | Soccer |
| Eric Fonoimoana | Beach Volleyball |
| Ian Crocker | Swimming |
| Jennie Finch | Softball |
| Laura Wilkinson | Diving |
| Lenny Krayzelburg | Swimming |
| Logan Tom | Indoor Volleyball |
| Morgan Hamm | Gymnastics |
| Neil Walker | Swimming |
| Toccara Montgomery | Women's Wrestling |
| Tyree Washington | Track & Field |
BUZZER BEATERS
CBS'final-round coverage of the PGA Tour Memorial Tournament presented by MorganStanley earned a 4.2/9 overnight Nielsen rating, up 24% from last year’s3.4/8. Sunday was the highest-ratedfinal round of the tournament since a 5.3/12 in ’01 (CBS).
AltitudeSports & Entertainment will air three MLS Colorado Rapids games live thisseason, beginning with the September 4 game against the Dallas Burn at InvescoField at 7:00pm MT (Altitude Sports & Entertainment).
TheCHICAGO TRIBUNE reports that Kellogg is not expected to renew its sponsorshipof the LPGA Tour Kellogg-Keebler Classic, and Tournament Dir Mark Herschis “in talks with five companies” to replace Kellogg. Three of the companies are “locally based and all are national inscope” (CHICAGOTRIBUNE, 6/7).
Scottsdale,AZ-based Select Artists today announced that its contract to manage Bank OneBallpark has been extended through 2018 (Select Artists).
CCMtoday unveiled a print campaign featuring Bruins F Joe Thornton andLightning F Vincent Lecavalier in support of its Vector promotion, whichallows customers who purchase select CCM Vector skate models to receive a freefull-size composite hockey stick via mail-in rebates (CCM).
FormulaBMW USA Championship Series today announced that it will hold a race during theAugust 13-15 Champ Car World Series Centrix Financial Grand Prix of Denverweekend. The Formula BMW series, in itsinaugural season, gives all competitors the same cars using the same budgets (FormulaBMW).
BoundlessMotor Sports Racing today announced Choice Hotels as the officialaccommodations sponsor of the World of Outlaws series (Boundless).
CHANNELSURFING
HOFerRick Barry will appear on FSN’s “I,Max” at 6:00pm local time.
ABCwill air the Stanley Cup Finals: Flames-LightningGame Seven at 8:00pm ET.
SunshineNetwork will broadcast pre-game coverage of Game Seven of the Flames-LightningStanley Cup Finals on “SportsTalk Live” at 6:30pm ET from the outside plazalevel of the St. Pete Times Forum (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 6/7).
ESPN2will air Cardinals-Cubs at 8:00pmET.
NBA TV will air “1984:Then and Now” at 8:00pm ET.
HOFer YogiBerra will appear on MSNBC’s“Countdown” at 8:00pm ET.
ESPNClassic’s “SportsCentury” will profile WiltChamberlain at 8:00pm ET.
Rockets G Mark Jackson, Raptors G Jalen Rose, Heat G Dwyane Wade and Mariners 2BBret Boone are scheduled to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”
E!’s“True Hollywood Story” will profile ABC’s “TheBachelor” at 8:00pm ET.
PistonsF Tayshaun Prince will appear on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” at 12:05amET.
TheVENTURA COUNTY STAR reported that FSN will “premiere a new weekly baseballshow, ‘SCSR Totally Baseball’” at 6:30pm PT. Barry LeBrock of the“Southern California Sports Report” will host the hour-long debut, whichfeatures Dodgers P Jeff Weaver and his brother Jared Weaver, whopitches for Long Beach State (VENTURACOUNTY STAR, 6/4).
HEADLINERS
Hereare tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “The Late Show” | Bill Murray |
| “The Tonight Show” | Jennifer Love Hewitt |
| “The Late Late Show” | Quentin Tarantino |
| “Late Night” | Bob Costas (r) |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Brooke Burns |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS’ Chris Walsh writes ofKroenke Sports Enterprises’ plans to launch Altitude Sports &Entertainment, “Somesports observers say it's [Stan] Kroenke's biggestgamble to date in Denver, a hefty statement considering he has spentseveral hundred million dollars already acquiring teams and entertainmentvenues here. … Theeffort could cost anywhere from $10 million to $50 million or more, accordingto some estimates. If the networkstruggles, losses could skyrocket” (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS).
The WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL’s Mike Mulhern writes, “It's inexplicable thatPhiladelphia, more than 30 years after the Dover track opened, is still virginmarketing territory for NASCAR. Dovermay be a nice town to raise your kids, but it's a small market. … Philadelphiais the logicalmarketing target. … This appears to be another example of promoters andNASCAR becoming too complacent with years of success” (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL).
TheN.Y. POST’s Larry Brooks writes of the NHL’s insistence on including a hardsalary cap in a new CBA, “The league plans to penalize excellenceand to reward mediocrity. The league plans to guarantee a profit for everyteam, regardless of competence. The league could not care less aboutramifications on the ice, about what a hard cap would actually do to the game”(N.Y. POST).
SeeThe Daily Insider’s Articles ofInterest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Sports: Since ’00, the Stanley CupFinals has gone to seven games three times. Between ’65-99, how many times did it reach seven games?
IN OTHERNEWS……
TheWALL STREET JOURNAL reports that Viacom is expected to be a “bright spot inthis year’s ‘upfront’” advertising market. Because of advertisers’ unwillingness to “pay steep price increases,people familiar with some of the negotiations say the networks are expected tohold some portion of the available ad time in reserve, rather than sell it atlower prices. This time would then be offered as ‘scatter’ – advertising timesold at a premium on an as-needed basis” (WALLSTREET JOURNAL, 6/7).
THE DAILY STAT: N.Y. TIMES BESTSELLING NONFICTION
Thefollowing presents best selling nonfiction books for the week ending June 6 (NYTIMES.com,6/7):
| THIS WEEK |
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
|
| 1) | EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES, Lynne Truss (Gotham) |
| 2) | BIG RUSS AND ME, Tim Russert, (Miramax) |
| 3) | PLAN OF ATTACK, Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster) |
| 4) | BATTLE READY, Tom Clancy w/ Tony Zinni & Tony Koltz (Putnam) |
| 5) | FOUNDING MOTHERS, Cokie Roberts (Morrow) |
| 6) | ON THE DOWN LOW, J.L. King w/ Karen Hunter (Broadway) |
| 7) | ALEXANDER HAMILTON, Ron Chernow (Penguin Press) |
| 8) | FATHER JOE, Tony Hendra (Random House) |
| 9) | SECRETS OF THE CODE, edited by Dan Burstein (CDS Books/Squibnocket) |
| 10) | THREE WEEKS WITH MY BROTHER, Nicholas & Micah Sparks (Warner) |
…TODAY’SANSWER
Three.
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