ABC's Eagles-Cowboys "Monday Night Football" game
     earned a 17.4 national rating, making it the highest-rated
     game of the season, according to Barry Horn of the DALLAS
     MORNING NEWS.  The game earned a 42.7 in Dallas-Fort Worth
     and a 37.3 in Philadelphia (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/17).
          NUMBERS: USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke writes that "despite
     the big endings" of TNT and "MNF" games, TV ratings "have
     been mixed."  TNT is up 9%, to 8.6, over '96; ABC is down
     9%, to 15.3....CBS' "College Football Today," carried in 34
     of the 38 large markets, scored "only" a 1.0 overnight.  CBS
     Dir of Media Relations Leslie Anne Wade: "It's going to take
     time for viewers to realize they can get scores and
     highlights on our show" (USA TODAY, 9/17)....Sunday's
     Country Music TV 300 NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at NH
     Int'l Speedway earned a 3.7 rating on TNN (NASCAR).

          Fox Sports Detroit (FSD) made its official launch at
     6:00am today, according to Steve Crowe of the DETROIT FREE
     PRESS.  Fox Sports Net Senior VP Tim Krass said that only
     Detroit's Media One cable customers "were in danger of not
     getting" FSD in time for tonight's Red Wings-Penguins
     exhibition game.  Crowe: "But that's a considerable segment
     -- about 400,000 homes in the metro area."  Krass said talks
     with Media One are ongoing. Comcast, another "major local
     cable company," agreed to terms for carriage on Monday. 
     Crowe adds that "it will be a while before" FSD has a local
     on-air presence beyond games (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 9/17).

          TV NEWS: Classic Sports Network has launched on Cox
     Communications systems in the San Diego area, adding 450,000
     new homes to the network (CSN)....ESPN Int'l has acquired
     the exclusive rights to the XXII Men's South American
     Volleyball Championships, and the multi-year deal began with
     the finals of the '97 tournament September 11-14 (ESPN
     Int'l)....HBO Sports will broadcast the Oscar De La Hoya/
     Hector Camacho fight this Friday at 10:00pm ET (HBO).
     ....The Harris Corp. offered the first live broadcast of an
     MLB game in HDTV on Tuesday, and Joel Brinkely writes that
     "viewers gasped" while noting "details that would not have
     been discernible" on a conventional TV (N.Y. TIMES, 9/17). 
          PUBLISHING: In N.Y., Keith Kelly wrote that Miller
     Publishing is "the top contender" to "snag a handful" of
     N.Y. Times magazines, including Tennis, Tennis Buyer's
     Guide, Cruising World, Sailing World, Snow Country and Snow
     Country Business (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/16).  But TENNIS WEEK
     notes that Tennis magazine "is being purchased by Hearst for
     a reported" $20M, and will change its editorial focus to
     "life style" (TENNIS WEEK, 9/18 issue).