Barry Diller has "engineered his first major move" as
     head of USA Networks, "consolidating the programming,
     marketing and promotion of" USA, Sci-Fi Channel, Home
     Shopping Network and America's Store, the four cable
     networks in his portfolio, according to John Dempsey of
     DAILY VARIETY.  Doug Holloway, USA Network Exec VP/
     Distribution & Affiliation, said the four networks will be
     "both entertainment and transaction oriented."  Holloway
     said that USA's 100 hours of sports programming, which
     includes U.S. Open tennis and Tuesday night boxing, will be
     "natural targets for the selling of sports merchandise on
     the shopping channels."  There will also be incentives for
     cable system owners, who will collect a percentage of each
     sale "chalked up within" their coverage areas, which will
     allow them to "pocket extra revenue" from the sale of
     products on USA's shopping channels (DAILY VARIETY, 3/3).

          Sonics G Gary Payton led a "boycott" of NBC after
     studio analyst Peter Vecsey made "detrimental comments"
     about Payton's practice habits and inferred that Payton was
     a bad influence on teammate Vin Baker, according to Glenn
     Nelson of the SEATTLE TIMES.  Payton has since "relented"
     and did prep work with NBC personnel during the All-Star
     Game, but "with the stipulation that Vecsey not be present." 
     Nelson: "Vecsey and his chronic misinformation are as big a
     menace to the NBA as Isaiah Rider, Psycho-ly or any of them.
     His erroneous, rip-job reports regarding Shawn Kemp severely
     damaged a player's reputation as well as created a rift
     between player and city that ultimately could not be mended. 
     Payton should be applauded for, as far as we know, being the
     only NBA player with enough you-know-what to stand up to
     sports' No.1 rumor-monger" (SEATTLE TIMES, 3/1).
          MICROPHONE MOVES: Mike Patrick has "turned down a
     larger offer" from CBS and will remain at ESPN.  Patrick,
     who had been earning $400,000 a year, passed on CBS's five-
     year, $4M offer, to stay at ESPN for "slightly more than"
     $3.5M.  He will continue to lead ESPN's Sunday night NFL
     telecasts and work college basketball games and the College
     World Series (USA TODAY, 3/3)....CBS has signed Verne
     Lundquist to its NFL play-by-play team (Bob Raissman, N.Y.
     DAILY NEWS, 3/3)....In N.Y., David Hinckley calls
     speculation that Marv Albert will rejoin MSG "intriguing"
     and notes that when WFAN President Joel Hollander toyed with
     the idea of hiring Albert last October "he was carpet-bombed
     for a week."  Hinckley: "Now, four months later, MSG's idea
     raises barely a peep. Amazing turnaround" (DAILY NEWS, 3/3).

          CASEY AT BAT: Casey Martin's return to the Nike Tour at
     the Greater Austin Open "can be seen this week only on" The
     Golf Channel, which will "train a dedicated camera" on him
     (Richard Sandomir, N.Y. TIMES, 3/3).  In Austin, 176 media
     members have applied for credentials, where the media
     trailer accommodates 32 reporters.  A tent will handle the
     overflow (Harry Blauvelt, USA TODAY, 3/3).
          NOTES: While the New Boston Garden Corp. is suing Fox
     Sports New England (FSNE), claiming they are owed "almost"
     $300,000 for FSNE's use of their broadcasting facilities in
     fall '95, FSNE GM Marc Edwards said that he "is confident
     the court will find his company doesn't owe the money"
     (Howard Manly, BOSTON GLOBE, 3/3)....HBO's "Inside The NFL"
     will return for its 22nd year next fall (HBO).  In N.Y.,
     Steve Zipay reports that HBO agreed to a four-year deal with
     the NFL at a 20-30% "increase," with the league "able to re-
     open" after two years.  The show will feature four to eight
     minutes of additional highlights, a new set and new
     animation.  Contracts with on-air talent "are being
     renegotiated, but some roles may change" (NEWSDAY, 3/3).
     ....CNN debuted a new, 30-minute soccer show called "World
     Cup Weekly" which airs on CNN/SI and CNN Int'l from now
     through the end of May.  The show airs Saturdays at 2:30pm
     ET and re-airs on Sundays at 12:30pm ET (U.S. Soccer).
     ...ESPN will televise the 1,000th NHL game in its history on
     March 8, with the Penguins-Flyers game (ESPN)....For the
     third year in a row, NY-based WFAN-AM was the USA's top-
     billing radio station, according to BIA Research.  The all-
     sports station held that spot in '96, with an estimated
     $47.7M in revenue (BROADCASTING & CABLE, 3/2). 

          Disney is "considering tying its successful ESPN sports
     channel more closely to ABC Sports - possibly replacing the
     ABC Sports moniker in some programming," according to
     Michael Stroud of BROADCASTING & CABLE.  A more visible
     linkage could give ABC Sports programming "stronger brand
     recognition," while giving extra exposure to the ESPN brand
     as Disney launches ESPN restaurants and retail stores. 
     Cowen & Co. analyst Harold Vogel called the possible
     scenario an "interesting example of the cable network tail
     wagging the broadcast network dog."  Since ESPN's "strong"
     profit has "helped to counter" ABC's "lesser" contribution
     to Disney's earnings, Stroud wrote that bolstering ESPN's
     role "makes fiscal sense."  Hearst Corp., which owns 20% of
     ESPN "would likely approve the plan," although support from
     ABC's union members "is less certain" (B&C, 3/2 issue). 

          CBS's Sundays broadcast of the Nissan Open final round,
     which saw Billy Mayfair defeat Tiger Woods in a playoff,
     earned a 6.0 overnight rating, up 40% from last year (USA
     TODAY, 3/3).  CBS's 6.0 overnight topped the Sunday numbers,
     as NBC's early national Knicks-Lakers game earned a 4.8/12
     overnight, while its late regional game earned a 5.0/11. 
     Also on Sunday, ABC's broadcast of the inaugural Las Vegas
     400 earned a 4.6/14 preliminary overnight (THE DAILY).
          MORE NUMBERS: TNN's coverage of the Goodwrench Service
     Plus 400 NASCAR Winston Cup on February 22 marked the
     highest-rated NASCAR event ever on cable TV, earning a 5.6
     rating.  The telecast was also TNN's largest audience ever,
     with 3,954,000 viewers.  The race was the highest-rated
     cable program of the week ending February 22 (TNN).

          Times Mirror Magazines (TMM) has acquired InterZine
     Productions, owners of THE SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY and creator
     and developer of sports Web sites including iGOLF, iSKI,
     SOL/Snowboarding Online, iBIKE, and iRACE.  InterZine and
     TMM online products will be operated as a single interactive
     division and be closely aligned with Times Mirror's
     magazines in their respective markets.  TMM publications
     include The Sporting News, GOLF Magazine, Ski Magazine,
     TransWorld Snowboarding and Verge, among others.  TMM
     President & CEO Efrem Zimbalist III said "[i]t is not often
     that you can find a company like InterZine which has
     developed state of the art internet products which fit so
     strategically with our own brands."  Michael Dubester,
     president of The Sporting News Online, will be president of
     the interactive division responsible for all online products
     and will report to Scott Kabak, TMM's Senior VP/Operations &
     Multimedia.  Brian Henley, Founder & CEO of InterZine, will
     work closely with Dubester on interactive products and
     strategy in his new position as Executive Director of
     Interactive Media (Times Mirror).  In Ft. Lauderdale, L.A.
     Lorek writes that InterZine and TMM "initially" met to
     discuss a possible partnership, but the acquisition "worked
     out better."  Henley: "The Internet is ready to take off. 
     There will be fewer players in this industry.  This makes
     both of us stronger" (Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 3/3).