CNNfn launched "Sports Inc.," a daily show devoted to
the business of sports. Sean Callebs hosts Monday-Friday,
5:30-6:00 pm ET (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 11/26)....In New York,
Richard Sandomir notes so far this year, CBS' package of Big
East and SEC football games is scoring a 3.3 national
Nielsen rating, 45% below ABC's 4.8. Sandomir writes the
CBS "spin" is that after a five-year hiatus from regular-
season college football, "it's merely thrilled to be back."
In the future, CBS will "avoid" scheduling early games "too
often" against ABC's telecasts and NBC's Notre Dame
schedule, and it will use more ABC-like regionalization
(N.Y. TIMES, 11/26)....ESPN's David Aldridge reported "among
the scuttlebutt at last month's [NBA] board of directors
meeting is word that owners are anticipating their
television revenues from NBC will increase two-to-three
times from its current $750M minimum when the TV contract
expires at the end of the '97-98 season" ("SportsCenter,"
ESPN, 11/25)....Chaminade Univ. renewed contracts with ESPN
and Chicago-based Kemper Lesnik Communications to carry and
produce the Maui Invitational college basketball tournament.
ESPN's contract was renewed through 2002 to air six or seven
games a year. KLC's contract was extended through 2009 to
produce the event (Maui Invitational)....The second Canadian
sports cable channel to launch within the next 12-18 months,
is expected to change its initial name, S3. Potential
names: Canadian Sports Network (CSN), Sports Choice Network
(SCN), Home Team Network (HTN) or Home Game Network (HGN).
The service is owned by CTV, Molson, Rogers Cable and Fox
Liberty (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 11/26)....ABC Sports signed
Curtis Strange as its lead golf analyst. Strange will work
ten tournaments in '97 (USA TODAY, 11/26)....Dagny Scott,
current editor of Running Times, takes over as editor of
Sports & Fitness Publishing's women's sports division,
effective January 1, '97. She replaces current Editor-in-
Chief Mary Duffy (INSIDE MEDIA, 11/25)....NewSport produced
two new cable trade ads to support its recent localization
focus. Created by Wolfe Doyle Advertising, the first ads
appear in issues of Multichannel News and Cable World and
will feature Newsport's redesigned logo and tag line,
"Here's a revolutionary idea: We'll carry you" (NewSport).
