CBS HAS EYE ON PROFIT FOR GAMES; NHL AT OLYMPICS DEBATED

          CBS will sell "roughly" $610M in advertising for the
     Nagano Winter Olympics, and between the network and its
     O&Os, "total profit may approach" $100M, according to Steve
     McCellan of BROADCASTING & CABLE.  CBS TV Network President
     of Sales Joe Abruzzese said that CBS, to date, has sold
     $530M in ad sales with another $20M to be sold before the
     start of the Games.  McClellan adds that CBS "may make a
     profit" of $30-40M on the Olympics, while the O&Os will sell
     about $60M in advertising, "virtually all of which falls to
     the bottom line."  CBS also is selling the time for TNT's
     50-hours of Olympic programming.  CBS is "guaranteeing" a
     19.7 primetime rating to advertisers, "far lower" than the
     27.8 that the '94 Games drew.  Also, "fewer advertisers are
     spending money."  In '94, 95 advertisers spent $360M at the
     Lillehammer Games, while 33 advertisers are spending $530M
     for Nagano.   Abruzzese said that the average price for a
     30-second spot is about $500,000 but it could cost as much
     as $800,000 per unit (BROADCASTING & CABLE, 11/24 issue).
          THE NHL AT THE OLYMPICS: With some NHL players
     criticizing the personnel of teams participating in the
     Nagano Games, columnist Gare Joyce wrote, "The theory: With
     the five-ring pageantry, the NHL is staging its Olympic
     tournament as a coronation on ice.  The reality: With its
     dissenters and power brokers the tournament will have a lot
     more in common with a political convention, which is to say,
     NHL business as usual.  The consequences: The reality will
     be too plain to the viewers at home and to the keepers of
     the flame.  As a result, the NHL will go to the Olympics
     only once" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/22). In Boston, Kevin Paul
     Dupont called on players to end disputes, and added that the
     NHL "needs the Olympics, far more than the [NBA] ever needed
     its Dream Teamers.  This is the NHL's chance to get its game
     in a fine romance with the world" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/23).