Cap Cities/ABC, GE's NBC and News Corp.'s Fox are all
expected to post second quarter gains, with one analyst
predicting that NBC is on their way to a "blockbuster year."
Smith Barney's John Reidy: "Overall, broadcasting is looking
strong. CBS's results misstate what's going on in the industry"
(WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/14)....Ratings for the season premiere of
Arena Football on ESPN may be 21.2% higher than last year, but
the league did not break the 1.0 barrier. The AFL's July 1 debut
drew a rating of 0.8, up from 0.66 in '94 (AFL)....In Houston,
Carlton Thompson notes Pam Oliver's move from ESPN Houston bureau
chief to join Fox's NFL coverage. Oliver: "ESPN was a great
experience for me. They allowed me to carve out a niche for
myself in the NFL and the NBA. But Fox affords me an opportunity
to grow" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/14)....ABC is touting Lyn St.
James as the first woman to work the booth on network auto
racing. St. James joins Paul Page and Sam Posey in coverage of
the Molson Indy Toronto on Sunday (Prentis Rogers, ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 7/14).... ESPN's "Up Close" prime time special,
with Roy Firestone, hosts Hideo Nomo and Greg Norman (Larry
Stewart, L.A. TIMES, 7/14)....Sean McDonough may be considering a
"part-time" job announcing BC football on Boston's all-sports
WEEI-AM.... Patriots VP/Corporate Marketing & Sales Daniel Kraft
says the team has sold out all ad spots for the three exhibition
games to be shown on WCVB. Kraft, son of Patriots Owner Robert
Kraft, promises a production comparable to the networks....Danny
Ainge has an audition for the TBS/TNT analyst job, as he
contemplates retirement from the NBA (Jim Greenidge, BOSTON
GLOBE, 7/14). ....The Astros will begin negotiations on a new
radio contract later this summer. All-sports KILT is expected to
join incumbent KPRC in the bidding for the team's rights (HOUSTON
CHRONICLE, 7/14). ....NBC Super Sport, a joint venture between
NBC and Parallel Media Group, will provide a "broad range" of
programming to NBC's pan-European Super Channel, including Notre
Dame football, NCAA basketball, MLB and the Volvo PGA European
Tour (NBC Super Channel).... Boston-based ad agency Houston
Effler Herstek Favat will create an image campaign for "The NFL
on TNT." The assignment was based on Houston's work for "The NBA
on TNT" (ADWEEK, 7/10)....PrimeStar reports a 700% growth rate in
its DBS service. Officials there say they have hit the 500,000
household mark and are on their way to a million subscribers by
the end of the year (GOULD MEDIA, 7/13).
