SportsChannel Pacific and TCI will hold a joint press
conference today, at which they will reportedly announce
that SC-Pacific will become a basic cable service (S.F.
CHRONICLE, 4/24)....ESPNET SportsZone set its own World Wide
Web site traffic records during its NFL Draft coverage from
Saturday through Monday, with over 23 million page views and
2 million visits to the site (ESPNET SportsZone)....Spanish-
language Fox Sports Americas has signed a four-year deal
with the USTA for the Latin American TV rights to the U.S.
Open tennis tournament (Fox Sports Americas)....Jupiter
Communications reported that SportsLine USA had January ad
sales of $293,325, compared to $909,995 for ESPNET
SportsZone. SportsLine USA's fourth-quarter revenue last
year was $1.2M, compared to $2.4M for SportsZone (SOUTH
FLORIDA BUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/21 issue)....The NBA Playoffs
begin tonight with Turner Sports entering its fourth
consecutive year of providing double coverage on TBS and
TNT, while NBC will broadcast weekend games (N.Y. POST,
4/24). CABLE WORLD notes that TNT and TBS are "planning a
programming, marketing and promotional blitz to try to drive
viewership for the playoffs," and that the networks "have
tended to average a rating in the mid-3's, peaking at a 6 or
7 in the conference finals, when NBC picks up coverage"
(CABLE WORLD, 4/21). In Canada, CTV will simulcast one NBC
game every Sunday, but will broadcast the NBA Finals in its
entirety (VANCOUVER SUN, 4/23)....Former Chargers' QB Dan
Fouts will leave his position as sports anchor at S.F.'s CBS
affiliate KPIX to join ABC as a college football analyst
(SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 4/22)....Skiing Co., publisher of
Ski and Skiing, will move its offices and staff of "roughly"
45 from NY to Boulder, CO (DENVER POST, 4/22).