CBS'S NCAA MEN'S TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: CBS Sports
President Sean McManus said CBS, in conjunction with the
NCAA, is "exploring the long-term benefits of possibly
providing out-of-market games as the NFL does on DirecTV's
'NFL Sunday Ticket'" for the NCAA tourney. USA TODAY's Rudy
Martzke writes that PPV games may be available by the 2000
Tournament, with CBS making all games in the first and
second weekend available in a package for $69 or $79 (USA
TODAY, 3/23). In N.Y., Phil Mushnick calls CBS's Tournament
coverage the "best logistical work in the 16 years it has
owned the rights" (N.Y. POST, 3/23). But in Boston, Howard
Manly wrote that studio analyst Dean Smith "is not an asset
on the air. For one thing, his Southern storytelling style
does not fit today's sound-bite world" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/22).
WHITHER ESPN TOWN HALL? While a White House
spokesperson said last week that a Presidential Town Hall
meeting focusing on race and sports would be held April 14
in Houston, an ESPN spokesperson said Sunday "that while the
idea had been discussed, neither the date nor the site has
been set in stone" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/23). Charles
Barkley, on the meeting that will focus on race and sports:
"I find that racist in its own right. The black people
can't do anything but sports?" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/21).
OTHER NOTES: The IOC's new TV deal with the CBC/TSN,
from 2000-2008, "marks the first time the IOC has handed a
Canadian broadcaster rights to a series of Olympic games
under a multiyear deal. Previously, rights were sold on a
Games-by-Games basis" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/23)....MSG
Network and Fox Sports NY have a toll-free number (1-888-
6743769) that viewers can call to locate their teams on
nights when multiple games are being telecast (N.Y. POST,
3/23)....Reggie White is being considered for a studio
analyst position with CBS (MIL. JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/22).
