OLYMPIC CURLING CHAMPION: CBS SWEEPS ITS WAY TO RATINGS WIN

          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).