Prior to announcing ESPN President Steve Bornstein as head
of Disney's new combined ABC-ESPN sports entity, "there was some
discussion inside [Disney] that Bornstein would eventually assume
a new title that would make him president of all Disney's sports
holdings." But, according to VARIETY's J. Max Robins, what is
more likely is for Disney Chair Michael Eisner to "go shopping
for someone else to play the role of Disney's superjock supremo."
A short list is said to include former MLB Commissioner Peter
Ueberroth and NBA Commissioner David Stern. Stern is signed to a
multi-year deal with the NBA. A "dark horse candidate" is NBC
Sports President Dick Ebersol, although sources say Ebersol wants
to stay at NBC through the run of his Olympics rights purchases -
- 2008 (VARIETY, 4/28 issue).
MORE ON THE MOUSE: Disney reported a "rare" first quarter
loss of $25M for the quarter ended March 31, with the "bulk"
attributed to a one-time charge from the Cap Cities/ABC
acquisition. But operating results were also below estimates,
largely due to a weak Christmas film performance (James Bates,
L.A. TIMES, 4/24). AD AGE examines the expected rise of cable ad
revenues, with ESPN a prime beneficiary. Overall cable ad
spending rose 15.1% from '94 to '95 to $3.4B (Lisa Greim, AD AGE,
4/22). Alex Wallau, ABC's boxing analyst, has been named Exec VP
of ABC Television Network, "making him a rare combination of on-
air personality and high-ranking network executive" (Stephen
Battaglia, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 4/24 issue).
TURNER NEWS: Turner Broadcasting, which plans to release
first quarter earnings in early May, said it will take a $60M
write-off for its film studio unit, halving cash flow for the
quarter (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 4/24).
FOX UPDATE: MEDIAWEEK reports News Corp. Chair Rupert
Murdoch is offering $23 a share for Ronald Perelman's stake in
New World Communications, while Perelman is asking for $29 a
share. Ten of New World's 12 stations are Fox affiliates (Mark
Gimein, MEDIAWEEK, 4/22).
