KGO-AM "fended off a sizable bid" from KFRC-AM
     yesterday and signed a new radio rights deal with the 49ers,
     retaining the team's rights which it has held for the past
     11 years, reports Susan Slusser of the S.F. CHRONICLE.  The
     three-year deal is said to be worth "just over" $5M per
     year, an increase of "more than" 40% from the last deal.
     KFRC, a CBS Station Group, would have given the team an FM
     outlet for simulcast purposes, and had "promised a wealth of
     marketing and promotion opportunities."  KGO, however,
     teamed up with NC-based sports syndication business Capitol
     Broadcasting "to match KFRC's bid."  Capitol will sell ad
     time and will also "expand the 49ers broadcast network,"
     which currently includes 36 markets (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/5).

          Fox Sports Pittsburgh announced that Allegheny County,
     PA, Judge Judith Friedman entered an immediate injunction
     yesterday, barring the Penguins from implementing the
     termination of their telecast agreement with Fox Sports
     Pittsburgh (FSP).  The injunction orders the team to comply
     fully with the telecast rights agreement.  FSP will televise
     tonight's Penguins-Red Wings game as scheduled (FSP).  In
     Pittsburgh, David Brown reports that the team said it did
     not attend the meeting with Friedman "because they did not
     receive notice of it."  Friedman has scheduled a hearing
     Friday afternoon on the dispute, which led Penguins Owners
     Roger Marino and Howard Baldwin to announce they were
     dropping FSP and planning to start their own local sports
     network.  FSP Senior VP/Legal Matters Dan Fawcett said the
     network has deposited $600,000 with the court as a "good-
     faith measure" in case it is found to owe the disputed fees. 
     Marino, on the team's planned network, called Marino Sports
     TV: "[I]f we're allowed to go through with this, we have a
     lot of confidence in it" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 3/5).  

          USC will host the '98 Pigskin Classic, featuring USC
     against Purdue at the L.A. Coliseum.  The game will be aired
     August 30 on ABC (NACDA)....ESPN's "Baseball Tonight" will
     kick off its ninth season March 9, beginning with a week-
     long series of shows originating from the ESPN Club at
     Disney's BoardWalk in Orlando.  ESPN Magazine senior writer
     Tim Kurkjian joins the show as a reporter (ESPN)....
     Cablevision Corp. is profiled by Verne Gay of MEDIAWEEK
     under the header, "Divining The Dolans: They've Created An
     Empire At Cablevision. But Some Wonder How Well The
     Emperors' New Clothes Will Fit" (MEDIAWEEK, 3/2 issue).

          CBS on Wednesday declared an "easy" February sweeps
     victory in total households and key demos "[d]espite
     disappointing ratings for the Winter Olympics," according to
     Rich Katz of DAILY VARIETY.  Nielsen Research showed that
     with one night left in sweeps period, CBS averaged a 14.1/22
     in households, beating NBC's 9.5/15, Fox's 8.0/12 and ABC's
     7.9/12.  CBS was up 43% from the February '97 sweeps, while
     NBC was down 17%, ABC off 19%, and Fox down 1%.  CBS TV
     President Leslie Moonves said that the Olympics had a
     "positive effect" on other parts of the net's schedule,
     noting ratings improvements for "Late Show" with David
     Letterman and "The Grammy Awards" (DAILY VARIETY, 3/5).
          PAYING FOR PIGSKIN: Moonves also addressed the
     network's ongoing attempt to "convince affiliates" to help
     pay CBS's $4B NFL bill, saying that despite resistance from
     some station owners, the network "wasn't worried."  Moonves:
     "There are certain mavericks out there speaking out.  We
     know we are going to successfully get our affiliates to
     contribute to football" (DAILY VARIETY, 3/5).

          PolyGram's efforts in the sports video market are
     examined by Thomas Arnold in the L.A. TIMES.  Since taking
     over the NFL's home-video line in '92, PolyGram has grown
     that league's share of the market from a "meager" 5%, with
     annual sales of "fewer than" 200,000 units, to 22%, with the
     most recent Super Bowl tape alone "in line to sell more
     than" 300,000 units.  Now, having just signed a five-year
     deal with MLB, PolyGram Video President Bill Sondheim "has
     his sights on resuscitating" MLB's sports-video franchise,
     which presently accounts for "less than" 7% of the market.
     PolyGram plans to use the "same strategy it employed to
     drive football sales. ... Beef up the product with music,
     kids and brands.  Trim the catalog.  And, perhaps most
     important, launch intensive local marketing efforts in the
     teams' hometowns."  Sondheim admitted that MLB is "a lot
     harder sell" than the NFL, and said possible ideas include a
     "nostalgia line," a children's line and a "greatest hits of
     baseball."  Sondheim is also considering packaging the NFL
     and MLB in partnerships so that retailers can "dedicate
     square footage to us year-round and merely rotate the season
     in play with product and signage" (L.A. TIMES 3/5).