CBS received a preliminary overnight rating of a 6.5 and a
16 share for its coverage of the Daytona 500 on Sunday (Nielsen
Sports Marketing Service). That is up 5% from last year's
telecast. CBS execs say the number may climb "near an 8" when
final numbers are released later this week (Milton Kent,
Baltimore SUN, 2/20). In Chicago, Steve Nidetz writes, "Once
again, CBS provided an exciting and enjoyable four-hour telecast
of the Daytona 500" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/19). In Atlanta, Prentis
Rogers gives high marks to the coverage, adding that blaming CBS
for allowing Ned Jarrett (father of winner Dale) "to be more of a
father than announcer is just a bit too cynical" (ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 2/19). In Toronto, Rob Longley calls it a "fast-
paced and informative telecast" (TORONTO SUN, 2/19). USA TODAY's
Rudy Martzke calls it the "best TV Sports telecast so far in
1996," giving the broadcast an "A" grade (USA TODAY, 2/19).
MORE NUMBERS: Overnights for Sunday's Bulls-Pacers game on
NBC were a 7.2, while CBS hit a 2.0 for Memphis-Georgetown, 2.7
for Indiana-Michigan. ABC Sports had a "season-low" 1.2 for
Missouri-Maryland (USA TODAY, 2/20).
