ESPN announced that Howard Cosell will receive the 3rd
annual Arthur Ashe Award for Courage.  Bill Cosby will accept the
award on Cosell's behalf at the ESPY Awards on Monday February 13
(ESPN)....The Redskins are expected to announce their choice to
carry the team's games on radio this week.  Speculation among
local station managers is that Infinity-owned WJFK-FM is "leading
the pack" with an offer of close to $4M annually (WASHINGTON
POST, 2/7)....ABC Radio Network has virtually completed its
relocation to Dallas from New York.  The largest radio broadcast
operation in the U.S. will be operating out of a new 73,000 foot
HQs (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/7)...WBAL-radio in Baltimore may
reduce the number of Orioles exhibition games it carries this
spring if replacement players are used.  Under WBAL's plan, the
announcers would "intersperse conversation with each other and
fans with accounts of the game" (Milton Kent, Baltimore SUN,
2/7)....ABC's telecast of the Pro Bowl "scored" in the overnight
ratings with an 11.7, almost "triple the audience the game
received on ESPN last year."....Sunday's Knicks/ Suns NBA game on
NBC drew a 6.6; CBS' College Basketball received a 2.3.  CBS VP
Len DeLuca: "We're never going to beat the NBA because the NBA
controls its own environment.  They have no opposing Sunday NBA
games" (Rudy Martzke, USA TODAY, 2/7)....The Tribune Company
reported a 28% increase in net income to $242M, even after the
company estimated baseball-related losses at about $30M.  The
company, wehich owns the Cubs, cited improved results from its TV
stations and new media/education group (ELECTRONIC MEDIA,
2/6)....TCI has agreed to a buy cable TV operation covering six
Bay Area communities, adding 70,000 subscribers to the 625,000 it
already has there (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/7).

     While testifying before FCC investigators in late January,
Rupert Murdoch "bluntly conceded" that his Australia-based News
Corp. "controlled all the equity of the American TV stations that
were the basis for the Fox television network," according to this
morning's N.Y. TIMES.  Sworn testimony released yesterday shows
that Murdoch said that he had not violated regulations that limit
foreign ownership of American stations because he is a
naturalized American citizen.  Murdoch: "Frankly, there was no
secret. ... News Corporation was on the hook for 100%."  If the
FCC finds that News Corp. and Fox are in violation of foreign-
ownership laws, Murdoch could be forced to "sell his stations or
restructure the company" (Edmund Andrews, N.Y. TIMES, 2/7).  The
WASHINGTON POST reports that government investigators have
"zeroed in" on a series of internal documents in which Fox
officials "discussed changing" the ownership structure "as far
back as 1989" (Paul Farhi, WASHINGTON POST, 2/7).  Fox officials
turned down a corporate restructuring plan in '90 for "fear of
triggering an investigation" (Daniel Pearl, WALL STREET JOURNAL,
2/7).
     PROFITS, PROFITS: Despite a $350M loss "reflecting expected
losses" on Fox's four-year NFL contract, News Corp.'s fiscal 2nd
Quarter earnings rose 11%.  The company said the loss was the
difference between what Fox will get in advertising revenue and
the cost of licensing, producing and marketing the NFL games over
the "life of the contract."  The charge was "less than half what
many people in the industry expected."  News Corp. CFO David
Devoe said the percentage of U.S. households reached by Fox
increased to 98% -- from 93% -- as a result of the football
broadcasts (Eben Shapiro, WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/7).

     NBC "Today" host Bryant Gumbel was expected to be named
today as the host of HBO Sports's new quarterly sports-magazine
show.  Gumbel's new one-year contract with "Today" does not
preclude other work, such as the HBO show.  HBO reportedly tried
to get NBC's Bob Costas, but his work on "Dateline" prevented any
deal (N.Y  TIMES, 2/7).

     While QVC Chair Barry Diller failed in his first attempt at
taking over CBS, that hasn't "stopped rampant rumors on Wall
Street and Broadcast Row" that Diller is planning a second run at
CBS, according to this morning's VARIETY.  Speculation about a
Diller move comes as the QVC takeover by TCI and Comcast becomes
final this week -- triggering Diller's resignation as chair --
"and against a backdrop of turmoil at CBS."  One industry source
says Diller has put together the estimated $5B in financing he
would need, but there is "no sign where it comes from" (DAILY
VARIETY, 2/7 issue).
     A LOOK AT CBS' NUMBERS:  CBS' profit picture, expected to be
announced tomorrow, "is likely to paint a grim picture of falling
earnings," according to N.Y. POST's John Durie.  Durie says the
diminished earnings are due to the loss of the NFL and key
affiliates to Fox, also citing CBS President Laurence Tisch's
"strategic failure to develop the CBS franchise into an
entertainment powerhouse like Capital Cities/ABC and newer
television rivals such as Viacom and Time Warner" (N.Y. POST,
2/7).
     CAP CITIES/ABC:  Cap Cities/ABC reported that net income
rose 44% to $240.6M in the 4th Quarter due to strong advertising
results from its broadcasting and cable networks.  "Earnings were
up significantly at ESPN," according to the company.  John Reidy,
media analyst for Smith Barney, said ABC might have "been lucky"
that the baseball strike occurred, as it left the network free to
"broadcast its usual fall lineup instead of the World Series,
which would have brought strong ratings but perhaps less profit"
(Geraldine Fabrikant, N.Y. TIMES, 2/7).