Fox will prepare for its "unprecedented" five hours of
Super Bowl pre-game coverage by putting crews "not only in
New Orleans," but in Green Bay and Foxboro, MA, for the next
twelve days," according to Joanne Weintraub of the MILWAUKEE
JOURNAL SENTINEL. The crews will follow Packers, Patriots
and their families, "compiling video diaries of both teams."
Asked if a five-hour pre-game was too much, Fox Exec
Producer Ed Goren said, "No, as long as Madison Avenue keeps
buying, we'll keep doing it" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL,
1/14). IMG's Barry Frank, on the Super Bowl matchup: "Green
Bay is going to be every bit as attractive as Dallas in the
Super Bowl for Fox. The Packers have Brett Favre, Reggie
White and tradition. And Bill Parcells leads the Patriots"
(USA TODAY, 1/14). In Tampa, Pat Yasinskas notes "for the
first time in recent memory, this one is going to be fun, in
a refreshing sort of way ... [the teams] bring a youthful
enthusiasm to Bourbon Street" (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 1/14).
NFL NEWS: The Packers' Santana Dotson will write a
playoff journal for Superbowl.com (Tony Rome). ....CABLE
WORLD's Alan Breznick reviews the NFL's regular-season
ratings, "as national TV carriers are scratching their heads
over a surprisingly disappointing pro football season."
Breznick: "Back-to-back annual ratings declines may mean
that the league's popularity has finally peaked after nearly
four decades of steady growth" (CABLE WORLD, 1/13).
