With the World Series set to begin this weekend (ABC
televises Games 1,4,5,7 and NBC has 2,3,6), sports media writers
from around the country took some parting shots at TBN. In L.A.,
Larry Stewart: "This may come as a shock, but every World Series
game will be televised across the country. Figuring out which
network is carrying which games is the tricky part" (L.A. TIMES,
10/20). Steve Zipay in New York: "If all seven games are played,
this match of October hopscotch will prove to be as silly and
cost effective as a Congressional junket" (NEWSDAY, 10/20). In
Atlanta, Prentis Rogers: "Although the concept of [TBN], with
its regionalized coverage, has been widely maligned, there can be
little argument about the high quality of the telecasts, an
aspect that gets lost in the furor over regionalization" (ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 10/20). In Philly, Mike Bruton, noting that both
network announcing teams take "shots" at TBN: "Keep your ears
cuffed and your minds alert and you might just get a terribly
exciting World Series and a little revenge to boot" (PHILADELPHIA
INQUIRER, 10/20).
COMMISSIONER NOMINATION: During an interview with TV
columnists yesterday, ABC's Al Michaels suggested that former Cap
Cities/ABC CEO Dan Burke would be a great pick as MLB's next
full-time commissioner. Michaels: "He's smart, he's a man who
knows the law, who loves baseball, who's moral." But Burke's
most important quality, according to Michaels, is that he knows
the TV business. Michaels: "The commissioner must understand
television. You can't suck every last dollar out of the network
and say, 'We just made a good television deal.' You need
somebody who can see the whole picture" (Steve Zipay, NEWSDAY,
10/20).
AD TIME: According to TBN, 50 of the 60 World Series spots
have been sold among 27 sponsors, and officials "confidently
predicted a sellout" by tomorrow (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/20).
The final Series spots are going for about $275,000 per 30-
seconds. In Boston, Jack Craig notes that is about half of what
30-second ads in the Super Bowl cost. BBDO's Steve Grubbs says
the disparity has to do with viewers' habits rather than the
number of viewers. Grubbs notes that more people watch the Super
Bowl in groups, meaning even if the game is a blowout, the TV
stays on. As for the World Series, there are more "lone viewers"
(BOSTON GLOBE, 10/20). Mickey Wittman, head of airship
promotions for Goodyear, says their national blimp coverage could
be worth as much as $2M in advertising if the Series goes all
seven games (Sandra Block, Akron BEACON JOURNAL, 10/20).
RATINGS WATCH: Rudy Martzke expects the ABC/NBC telecasts
to "easily top" the '93 Series, which averaged a 17.3 on CBS --
the second lowest of all time (USA TODAY, 10/20). In Boston,
Jack Craig predicts ABC's opening telecast will attract the
smallest audience, doing somewhere around a 15-17. By contrast,
Sunday's Game 2 could have an additional two million homes tuned
in. If the Series goes seven games, the audience should
"approach Super Bowl level." According to Craig, the most-
watched baseball telecast ever was the final game of the '80
Phillies-Royals Series, which did a 40.0, placing it just ahead
of the '90 Super Bowl (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/20). While NBC plans to
show reruns of their hit shows while ABC telecasts Series games,
ABC plans on airing original programming on NBC's baseball nights
(Milton Kent, Baltimore SUN, 10/20).
LOOKIN' FOR AN EDGE? According to Sega Sports, which
simulated a Braves-Indians Series, the Braves will win the in
six, taking Games 1, 3, 4, and 6 (Sega Sports).
