ABC SPORTS UNLIKELY TO SPARE PBA? WILL CBS STRIKE NEXT?

          ABC Sports "is likely to end its 36-year relationship
     with the Professional Bowlers Assn. at the end of its two-
     year contract," sources tell Stephen Battaglio of the
     HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.  Network insiders say that the "older
     audience profile of the PBA telecasts has made it a tougher
     sell for advertisers in recent years."  CBS Sports is the
     "leading contender to pick up the PBA."  ABC Sports had no
     comment on the PBA, but Battaglio notes under the current
     deal, ABC pays $52,500 for each of the 14 weekly PBA
     telecasts that begin in March.  Ratings in '95 were "stable"
     with a 2.8/8, but dropped in '96 to a 2.1/7.  The PBA has
     signed The Marquee Group to handle its TV and marketing
     efforts and sources say Marquee "wants to update the
     broadcast look of PBA telecasts and create events that would
     appeal to younger audiences" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 2/12).