THE DUELING 500'S: INDY SUFFERS 21% OVERNIGHT RATINGS DROP

     ABC's coverage of the Indianapolis 500 drew a 6.8 overnight
rating, a 21% drop from last year and the lowest Indy overnight
ever, according to Michael Hiestand of USA TODAY.  Yesterday,
ESPN projected a 3.0 cable rating for its coverage of the rival
U.S. 500 (USA TODAY, 5/29).
     RATINGS BREAKDOWN:  The following analysis, from Nielsen
Sports Marketing Service, compares this year's Indy 500
rating/shares to the '95 race (THE DAILY).  NOTE:  As these
numbers are preliminary, they may differ slightly from later
readings cited by networks and other news outlets.
MARKET          '95       '96      MARKET      '95      '96
New York       4.5/14    3.4/10    Denver     9.3/31   9.0/25
L.A.          10.9/33    7.8/24    Pittsb.    8.4/23   7.1/19
Chicago        9.4/28    7.5/22    St Louis  11.3/35   6.9/21
Phila.         8.1/23    6.2/18    Sac'mento  9.4/29   7.5/28
S.F.-Oak-S.J.  6.9/24    6.6/23    Orlando    8.6/25   8.5/23
Boston         3.9/17    4.0/15    Baltimore  7.8/22   5.0/13
Washington     7.1/21    6.4/18    Portland   9.5/32   8.7/30
Dallas-FW      9.9/26    7.8/21    Indian.   17.7/33  15.8/27
Detroit        9.8/25    6.9/20    Hartford   6.1/24   5.5/19
Atlanta        9.0/23    5.7/15    San Diego  8.5/27   7.7/24
Houston        8.2/21    7.2/19    Charlotte 10.3/28   7.8/21
Seattle        9.9/35    7.1/24    Cincy     12.9/35   9.9/28
Cleveland     11.9/30    5.6/15    Milwaukee 12.6/39  10.9/35
Minn-St Paul   8.6/27    5.6/20    K.C.       9.0/27   8.5/24
Tampa-St Pete  9.6/26    6.7/20    San Ant.   6.7/18   7.2/18
Miami-Ft Laud  5.7/17    6.1/17    W Palm Bch 9.7/26   6.6/18
Phoenix       11.7/34   10.1/29    AVERAGE    8.6/25   6.6/18