With Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire tied at 62 HRs, "the
frenzy returned" regarding TV coverage of the two teams,
according to Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES. Tomorrow's
Pirates-Cards game will be on ESPN2, while ESPN will feature
Cubs-Padres as the late game of its doubleheader. Fox "is
looking to add any" Cubs or Cards games to its Saturday
afternoon slots, its Fox Sports Net Thursday nights and its
FX Saturday night telecasts (N.Y. TIMES, 9/15). FX will
cover the Cards-Brewers Saturday (NEWSDAY, 9/15). FSN will
carry Thursday's Cubs-Padres game, and WGN will carry the
other 10 Cubs games left this season. Fox Sports has "used
up its telecast allotment" of nine Cards games, meaning that
McGwire's remaining games "will see limited national
exposure" (Rudy Martzke, USA TODAY, 9/15). The AP's Josh
Dubow reports that Fox would need MLB's permission to show
more Cards or Cubs games. Fox is "in discussions" with MLB,
but "nothing has been finalized." Both ESPN and FSN each
have McGwire and Sosa specials to air this week (AP, 9/15).
FOX'S COVERAGE: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes that
Fox Sports Net, which runs with the tag, "Where would you
turn for the best sports news?" in its promo ads, showed
taped cut-ins of Sosa's HRs, but none of the post-game press
conference on some of its RSNs. ESPN carried both events
live. FSN Exec VP Arthur Smith: "The home runs are the
news, the press conference is the reaction to the news. His
reaction is just as valid two hours later." But Sandomir
writes, "If Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports News ... are to be
taken seriously, they must carry news as it happens, not
when it's convenient" (Richard Sandomir, N.Y. TIMES, 9/15).
HATS OFF: In Chicago, Elliott Harris notes Sosa's
wearing of an "MLB on Fox" hat during his Sunday press
conference. Fox Senior VP/Media Relations Vince Wladika
said a hat was given to him on Saturday and, "I guess he
likes it." Harris: "The same cannot be said for ESPN, whose
cameraman tried to crop out its rival's logo." ESPN went
"from a wide shot to a much more up-close cut." Wladika:
"You could see every, every little nose hair and everything
on him. It was hilarious" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/15).
DEMO GAINS FOR MLB: VARIETY's Tom Bierbaum examines
MLB's increased ratings around the HR chase: "The question
baseball and its TV partners must now ask is whether the
sport will derive any long-term benefit from this historic
achievement or whether this is a one-shot deal." But one
"positive sign" is how much the HR chase has "broadened"
MLB's fan base. Compared with Fox's regular Saturday MLB
game, McGwire's record-breaking telecast on September 8 saw
its women's viewership multiply by eight times (6.5 to 0.8),
while the teen audience was five times as large (5.2 to
1.0). Among kids, the audience was more than four times as
large (3.2 to 0.7). Bierbaum: "Baseball's challenge for the
rest of the season is how to maintain the momentum of this
ratings surge" (Tom Bierbaum, VARIETY, 9/14 issue).
