"MNF" SHOWS SIGNS OF LIFE WITH A 17.4 RATING

          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).