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FOX'S GAMBLE PAYS OFF AS MLB DELIVERS STRONG NATIONAL RATING

          Fox earned a 12.9/21 national rating for Tuesday's
     historic Cubs-Cards game, marking the highest regular-season
     MLB rating since an ABC "Monday Night Baseball" game drew a
     13.4/24 in '82.  An estimated 43.1 million viewers watched
     all or part of the game.  During the 9:00-9:30pm ET half-
     hour time slot in which McGwire hit his 62nd HR, the game
     had a 15.5/24 rating.  Tuesday's game more than doubled the
     6.4 average rating Fox drew for its Tuesday night lineup for
     the past season and enabled Fox to easily win the night,
     with CBS in second at a 8.4/14.  Fox was blacked out in
     Chicago, the U.S.' No. 3 market, where WGN drew a 20.6/33,
     which was not included in Fox's rating (Fox).  Though
     Nielsen does not combine ratings, industry sources estimated
     that the combined audiences of Fox, Fox Sports Midwest and
     WGN drew a 16.4 (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/10).  Calling McGwire
     a "bona fide TV star," USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand writes
     that Fox "might have gotten another ratings point" if the
     Chicago market hadn't been blacked out (USA TODAY, 9/10).
           CHA-CHING: DAILY VARIETY'S Bierbaum & Adalian report
     that industry "insiders" say that Fox earned "between" $6-7M
     in ad revenue for the game, "more than offsetting any
     possible losses from make-goods to advertisers" who had
     bought time on its regular lineup (DAILY VARIETY, 9/10).  
          KING OF THE HILL: Fox Sports President David Hill
     called the decision to show Tuesday's game "an absolute no-
     brainer."  Hill, on Fox's on-air and behind-the-scenes
     talent: "There were a hundred ways to screw things up
     (Tuesday), but the way the boys handled it was perfect"
     (DAILY VARIETY, 9/10).  In N.Y., Bob Raissman writes that
     there "was no shortage of folks at Fox who second-guessed"
     Hill's decision.  Hill: "With all this going on and you have
     an opportunity to present to the public what is the sports
     equivalent of man walking on the moon, you do it." 
     Raissman: "Hill made a decision that was in the best
     interest of everyone" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/10).  More Hill:
     "Network television is about that shared community
     involvement, whether it's the final episode of 'Seinfeld,'
     whether it's the premiere of 'Ally McBeal' or whether it's
     McGwire going for history" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 9/10).  
          

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