CLASSIC SPORTS VOWS A RETURN TO NEW YORK

          Classic Sports Network, which lost its "plum" channel
     position on Time Warner Cable in New York with the premiere
     of WBIS+, still "expects" to be carried by most of the
     area's cable systems by the end of the year, according to
     Larry Jaffee of MEDIACENTRAL.  CSN CEO Brian Bedol said
     negotiations with Time Warner and Cablevision "are
     proceeding well."  Bedol added CSN is "turning its sights"
     to the World Wide Web, where it plans to offer a redesigned
     site at http://www.classic sports.com, to include a fan
     chat.  Bedol: "We have no interest to compete with ESPN
     SportsZone or SportsLine. ... It will be more of a social
     presence" (MEDIACENTRAL, 1/23).
          OPENING DAY: In New York, POST TV critic Michele Greppi
     writes "Day one for WBIS+ ... was a long one that wasn't
     pretty -- or threatening, if you work at any of the CNNs,
     either of the ESPNS any of the NBCs" (N.Y. POST, 1/23).