During yesterday's telecast of the San Jose State-Kentucky
game, CBS analyst George Raveling "raved and shouted" and "nearly
imploded," writes Richard Sandomir. CBS Sports Senior VP Rick
Gentile had to inform Raveling to "calm down." Gentile: "And he
did in the second half" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/15). CBS' regular-season
college basketball ratings were down 8% to 2.2, while ABC was off
28% to 1.8. NBC, with fewer games, was down 9% to 2.2 (Rudy
Martzke, USA TODAY, 3/15). ESPN begins a three-year, $3M deal
with the NCAA Women's tournament today. Between ESPN and ESPN2,
25 games will be broadcast (Doug Carlson, TAMPA TRIBUNE, 3/15).
IN THE EYE: CBS Sports President David Kenin, asked about
the network's increased rights fees for the NCAA. Kenin: "This
is a macro issue. It deals with identity, not ratings. From a
management standpoint, we extended the tournament and took this
major sports event out of the reach of our competitors." Kenin
said the NFL remains a "top priority" for the network in
negotiations in less than two years. CBS Entertainment President
Leslie Moonves said the network would be interested in Sunday or
a Monday night package (Rudy Martkze, USA TODAY, 3/15).
EARLY RATINGS: Nielsen overnights for yesterday's hoops
coverage: Game 1 regional coverage -- 3.3 rating/12 share; Game
2 -- 3.4 rating/11 share; Game 3 -- 5.9 rating/ 10 share; Game 4
-- 5.9 rating/11 share (Nielsen).
