SportsLine USA "would appear to be in the catbird seat"
as World Cup action attracts "as many as" 10 million hits a
day to its Web site and its stock price is "holding its own
after sinking sharply last month," according to Jay Sherman
of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. However, although "the outlook
looks bright," some execs "aren't satisfied and have
launched an initiative designed to bring the SportsLine name
beyond personal computer screens." SportsLine USA
VP/Programming Ross Levinsohn said that he "envisions"
expanding the brand "by rolling out TV-like content on the
site, building a fan base and then making the leap to either
TV or movies." Levinsohn said that the company "is in
talks" with a major studio to develop a TV program which
would start on the Web and "eventually air on TV, provided
it developed an audience online." Although he declined to
be more specific, he said he "would like" to have a show
running by year-end or early next year. SportsLine has been
working with the William Morris Agency and "exploring" how
to meld its "sports business with entertainment," and the
company has set aside "its second-largest financial
commitment yet to develop new content." Levinsohn has been
"scouring the creative communities" in Hollywood, N.Y. and
London in search of "ideas that will work within the
SportsLine framework" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/18).
