In an examination of upfront sales for the '97-98
primetime TV schedule, Stephen Battaglio of the HOLLYWOOD
REPORTER reports that ABC has "already sold 75% of the
available time" on "Monday Night Football" at an average
rate of $328,000 a spot, up 6% over last year. CBS has
"benefited from having the [Olympic] Games during a healthy
marketplace, as 90% of the inventory is sold at an average
rate near $500,000, according to a network executive"
(HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 5/29)....ABC's Tuesday broadcast of the
Indianapolis 500 drew a preliminary overnight rating of a
5.1, which Joseph Siano of the N.Y. TIMES calls "a fairly
decent showing considering the race was delayed by rain" and
moved to a weekday (N.Y. TIMES, 5/29)....Seagram Co. sold
over half of its stake in Time Warner for around $1.39B and
the "betting on Wall Street is that Seagram is gearing up to
buy the 50% of USA Networks it doesn't already own from
partner Viacom" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/29)...."Jerry
Maguire" goes to video on Thursday. Video Business
Magazine's Marcy Magiera says it will "be generating a lot
of excitement in retail, selling almost ten million copies,
which is a great success by any standards" ("ET," 5/28).
