The competition between Fox Sports and ESPN is "a
financial tug of war for the bottom line in sports
television that will affect the pocketbooks of every cable
viewer," according to CNBC's Renay San Miguel. Miguel: "In
one corner, Michael Eisner's Disney, defending the ESPN
cable sports ad championship title, one of the most
lucrative parts of the Mouse's empire. In this corner, the
challenger, Rupert Murdoch, battling back with Fox Sports
and some heavyweight cable partners: Cablevision's Chuck
Dolan, TCI's John Malone, and NBC's Bob Wright." if
Enterprises President Steven Herz: "Domestically, they're
fighting over the same defined market share. There's only a
very small segment of the population that's interested in
sports news and ESPN has kind of maxed out that viewership.
Fox is trying to carve in on what has traditionally for the
last decade been ESPN's turf." San Miguel: "One ...
question here: Will advertisers chip in on this sports war
by spending more money than they are now on sports cable
channels? Cable sales executives hope the final box score
indicates a 'Yes'" ("Business Center," CNBC, 11/12).
