Overnight ratings from Nielsen Media Research indicate
     the Orange Bowl received an 11.4/19 for CBS on Friday, while
     the Rose Bowl earned a 19.0/33 for ABC on New Year's Day,
     according to Stephen Battaglio of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. 
     The Orange Bowl rating, even if it is "bumped up" in final
     national ratings, "will be significantly below last year's
     championship game," the Sugar Bowl, which received a 17.9/29
     for ABC.  ABC's Rose Bowl rating was up 4% from '97.  In
     other New Year's Day bowl ratings, ABC received a 9.7/19 for
     the Citrus Bowl, up 17%, and an 11.7/19 for the Sugar Bowl,
     up 22% from last year's comparable game, the Fiesta Bowl. 
     CBS' Cotton Bowl was up 10% from '97, earning a 6.9/14
     (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 1/5).  In DC, John Carmody writes the
     Orange Bowl game "easily won a rare Friday night first place
     for CBS."  He also adds that ABC's Sugar Bowl gave the net a
     win on Thursday night (WASHINGTON POST, 1/5).     
          DIMINISHING RETURNS FOR BOWL GAMES? On ESPN SportsZone,
     Frank DeFord wrote that the "bowls have started to run into
     a little problem.  That is: Nobody much wants to go watch
     them. ... all the attention around New Year's now is devoted
     to the NFL playoffs" (ESPN SportsZone, 1/3).

          ROSE BOWL REVIEWS: In DC, Leonard Shapiro wrote on
     ABC's telecast of the Rose Bowl and said he "loved ABCs
     cablecam, a remote-controlled eye in the low sky that moved
     up and down the sideline to provide panoramic replays from a
     much closer angle than usual" (WASHINGTON POST, 1/3).  But
     in N.Y., Richard Sandomir wrote that CableCam "isn't very
     revealing on a football field when action goes north-south
     and east-west, and it didn't reveal much more about play
     development than the standard high-angle camera does" (N.Y.
     TIMES, 1/2).  In Toronto, Rob Longley called ABC's telecast
     of the Rose Bowl a "shining light both in terms of
     excitement and production" (TORONTO SUN, 1/5).
          OTHER NOTES: In N.Y., Mary Huhn wrote that ESPN
     magazine is one of the two "biggest bets in publishing for
     1998."  ESPN Senior VP/GM John Skipper "plans on doubling
     its initial guaranteed circulation of 350,000" (N.Y. POST,
     1/2)....HBO received a 10.1 cable rating for its boxing card
     featuring Prince Naseem Hamed vs. Kevin Kelley, "well above"
     its 8.5 average boxing rating (N.Y. TIMES, 12/26).

          The Heat have linked with Silver King Broadcasting, new
     to the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale market, on a five-year, over-
     the-air TV deal.  Silver King's new CityVision format will
     launch on WYHS this spring, and will feature sports, news
     and other entertainment programming.  The new partnership,
     starting next season, will include expanded pre- and post-
     game shows, Heat highlight programming and other promotional
     opportunities.  Silver King is a division of Barry Diller's
     HSN, and WYHS is the first station to launch its new
     programming format.  The Heat also announced a five-year
     agreement that will keep its games on Sunshine Network,
     which has held its rights since '91-92 (Heat).  
          DETAILS: Heat Exec VP Mike McCullough said that Silver
     King "offered more ways to promote the team" than WBFS-UPN,
     the team's over-the-air home for five years.  Silver King
     said that game days will be touted as "Heat Day on its
     station."  Sunshine and Silver King are each "expected to
     show 30 to 40 games," and will use a joint production team
     "to promote continuity" (SUN-SENTINEL, 12/24).  
          MORE SPORTS: Silver King Exec VP Adam Ware: "Several
     (sports) organizations have shown interest in our
     programming concept. ... We are the new player in local
     sports rights."  Ware said that Silver King, which owns 11
     stations in 10 markets, "is offering a lot more to teams"
     than regular affils.  While NBA restrictions on national
     distribution will "probably prevent" games from airing on
     Diller's USA Network, Ware said that they "may use the Heat
     as the basis for other programming that would eventually air
     on other Silver King stations and USA."  Ware: "We could
     develop a show with Pat Riley that would be filmed in Miami
     and there's no reason that couldn't be syndicated by
     Universal or put on USA" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 12/30).
          BIG TIME: Diller's media empire is profiled by Phyllis
     Furman in the N.Y. DAILY NEWS: "Diller is the No. 1 media
     mogul to watch this year as he tries to scratch his way back
     to the top of the media business" (DAILY NEWS, 1/5).