The cover story of the current BROADCASTING & CABLE, "TV
Sports: The $3.5 billion ticket," looks at the "whole new
ballgame" of sports on TV. In '95, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox pulled
in $2.5B in sports programming ad sales, up from $2.24B in '94,
according to Paul Kagan & Assoc. The Cable TV Ad Bureau notes
cable brought in $951M, with national nets totaling $736M, up
17.8% from '94, while regionals brought in $215M, up 27.2%.
Domestically, NBC, ABC, and CBS garnered about $2B in sports
advertising in '95. In its third season, Fox Sports expects to
generate around $700M from the NFL, NHL, and MLB. Industry
experts see the "alliances between broadcast and cable networks
changing the competitive landscape." Some "foresee a resurgence
by CBS Sports, probably in an alliance with a cable entity." The
"most likely partner" is The Nashville Network, the Gaylord-owned
channel which CBS has partnered with in the past. Neal Pilson,
former CBS Sports President, sees each major broadcast network
developing "strong cable ties in the future." NBC Sports
President Dick Ebersol said cable alliances could be on a sport-
by-sport basis. Ebersol: "Money is at the top, but not far away
is the marketing and promotion of those sports; and the people in
the future who understand that best are the people who are going
to succeed" (Jim McConville, B&C, 5/13 issue).
TREND-WATCHING: If the merger with Time-Warner is approved,
TBS figures to be a competitive player in sports rights
negotiations. Time Warner and Turner reportedly have not
discussed the possibility "of including the WB Network in any of
its sports rights bidding and will not consider such a plan until
completion of the merger." Also examined is the "out-of-market"
direct satellite business. Industry experts say out-of-market
sports packages "may provide a steady, albeit modest, revenue
stream," once DBS companies "build a sizable subscriber base"
(B&C, 5/13 issue).
