MONDAY NIGHT MADNESS: ABC will unveil the first Bowl
Championship Series poll standings during halftime of
tonight's "MNF" telecast and USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke
criticizes ABC for delaying the announcement, noting that
while it "might help" the 9% "MNF" ratings decline, the
approximate 9:45-10:00pm ET disclosure time is "unfair to
other news organizations and fans" (USA TODAY, 10/26)....In
N.Y., Bob Raissman wrote that some execs at ABC Sports "are
not happy over the strategy to make 'Monday Night Football'
and ESPN's Sunday night NFL game have a similar look and
feel. Who can blame them. 'MNF' always stood out alone as
a primetime event. To homogenize it as part of an overall
corporate strategy is quite strange" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS,
10/25)....ABC affils in L.A. and S.F. are showing "World
News Tonight" on Monday afternoons, and other ABC affils
have simply "cut" it as a result of the earlier "MNF" start
time. "World News Tonight" anchor Peter Jennings "is
considering writing" the stations to ask for better time
slots and ABC is debating whether to produce a special
newscast for the West Coast on Mondays (AP, 10/24).
CRTC RULING: The Canadian Radio-Television &
Communications Commission ruled that cable companies "should
not be allowed to increase ownership of TV channels until
there is more capacity for new channels and more competition
for their distribution." The decision blocked Rogers
Communications, Canada's largest cable service with about
2.2 million subscribers, or 30% of the market, from doubling
its 20% stake in CTV SportsNet (FINANCIAL POST, 10/24).
NOTES: Warren Littlefield "is stepping down" as
president of NBC's entertainment division, and people "close
to the company" say that NBC stations President Scott Sassa
will succeed him (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/26).
