DC-based sports attorney Phil Hochberg penned an op-ed in
MEDIAWEEK on the future of sports on over-the-air and cable TV.
Hochberg writes on cable, pay cable or PPV "siphoning off the
crown jewels of TV sports," adding, "Not to worry; it won't
happen." Hochberg notes over-the-air TV "will continue to play a
major role in sports. ... Sports still needs the vast and total
exposure of conventional, over-the-air [TV]. And Congress is ...
always looking over the shoulder of professional sports"
(MEDIAWEEK, 8/19 issue)...fX will air 14 live games of the World
Cup of Hockey as part of the 19 game telecast package carried by
Prime Sports and fX. fX's first game is Russia-Canada in
Vancouver, August 29 at 8:00pm EDT (fX).....ABC's "Monday Night
Football" exhibition game between Miami-Minnesota averaged a
national 9.6 rating and 17 share (WASHINGTON POST,
8/21)....Starting in November, ESPN will distribute 1.2 million
schedules highlighting its college basketball schedule in support
of Bud Light's title sponsorship of its "Big Monday" broadcasts.
Trips to Conference Championships will also be part of ESPN's
"Big Monday" promo. ESPN Senior VP/Marketing Judy Fearing:
"We're trying to move to a formula where sponsors get more than a
media buy" (BRANDWEEK, 8/19 issue)....Shell's "Wonderful World of
Golf" series on ABC is profiled in BRANDWEEK. Steve Gelsi notes
the event has helped Shell earn a "franchise position on the
varied menu of TV golf, but also represents a big step toward
creating a stand-out overlay for what had been a simple, if
effective grass roots involvement in the sport" (BRANDWEEK, 8/19
issue)....ESPN Enterprises and Tommy Boy records released Jock
Jams, Volume 2, a follow-up to the platinum Jock Jams. Included:
K.C. & The Sunshine Band's "Get Down Tonight" and "Macarena"
(ESPN).
