ABC's airing of the Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield bout
last Thursday at 10:00pm ET gave it "its highest rating in
the time period since May 21," according to Stephen
Battaglio of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. The fight earned an
8.2/15 which, while behind NBC's "ER" (11.5/21) and CBS' "48
Hours" (8.9/16), won the time period among men 25-54 and
finished "a narrow second" behind "ER" for men 18-49
(HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 8/18). The fight's ratings were a 19%
increase over ABC's ratings in the time slot over the past
two weeks (Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY, 8/18). In N.Y., Bob
Raissman writes that ABC "did a fine job" with the fight, as
Alex Wallau and Al Michaels were "even-handed in their
analysis" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/17). In Toronto, Steve
Simmons called ABC's coverage, "My definition of terrific
sports television" (TORONTO SUN, 8/17).
PGA IN REVIEW: Coverage of the PGA Championship
Thursday on TBS drew a 1.8 cable rating, up 125% from '96.
CBS' Saturday overnight, based on 37 markets, was a 4.6, up
59% from last year (Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY, 8/18)....In
N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes that CBS' Golf Producer Lance
Barrow handled the PGA Championship coverage "in a most
satisfying fashion" (N.Y. POST, 8/18)....In Houston, David
Barron writes that CBS' Jim Nantz "continues to labor under
the mistaken impression that in moments of great drama, you
drown the viewer in verbiage -- as if anything you say will
be more profound than the images on screen. Well, they're
not." But Barron adds that CBS "did a fine job" and that
Nantz "is a good host when he isn't trying to manipulate our
emotions" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/17).
