Nike has unveiled its Web site at http://www.nike.com, which
it touts as being "for use by the press" during the summer of
'96. The opening page declares: "The purpose of this site is
not to sell shoes. Or glorify apparel. Or market a brand. For
the time being, Nike.com exists only to provide useful
information about Nike athletes to the press. If you're not a
member of the press, you can still sneak in and see the stuff
they get to see. Just don't expect anyone to sell you anything"
(THE DAILY)....While there are no U.S. teams left in the CFL, the
league still has its U.S. TV contract. ESPN and ESPN2 will carry
11 regular-season games and three playoff games this season as
part of a two-year deal. None of the regular-season games will
be shown live. ESPN2 will show the Grey Cup game live (Toronto
GLOBE & MAIL, 6/13)....USA Network will co-produce a film with
Green/Esptein Productions on the life of diver Greg Louganis
based on his autobiography, "Breaking the Surface" (N.Y. POST,
6/13)....Cox Communications, with 3.3 million cable subscribers
nationwide, has agreed to carry MSNBC when it launches on July
15. Thus far, MSNBC claims 22 million subscribers, but all but
2.5 million will be converting from America's Talking. NBC execs
say they are in discussions with 50 to 60 other cable operators
(ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 6/13).... News Corp. plans to launch
Japanese Sky Broadcasting -- JSkyB -- in two years, offering 100
channels of Japanese programming on digital TV (N.Y. POST,
6/13)....A special edition of Sports Illustrated celebrating the
Avalanche's Stanley Cup championship and featuring Patrick Roy on
the cover, begins reaching outlets in CO today (Colorado Springs
GAZETTE TELEGRAPH, 6/13)....Chet Coppock celebrates his 500th
airing of "NewSport Talk" on Friday with a special show from the
Harley-Davidson Cafe in New York (NewSport). ....Prime Sports
Events Group has lined up five "associate-level sponsors" for the
U.S. Open of Surfing, August 6-11. Budweiser, Virgin Megastores,
Airtouch Cellular, Shuttle by United and Chevrolet have all
signed up for $100,000 each, according to PSEG VP Don Meek. The
two-hour cablecast airs August 16 on Prime Network (Brockinton &
Reynolds, INSIDE MEDIA ONLINE, 6/12).
