OLBERMANN TO FOX? USA TODAY's Peter Johnson reports
that Keith Olbermann "will be out the door soon" at MSNBC.
Johnson: "Some suspect Olbermann is sick of news, itching to
get back into sports, and Fox is interested" (10/27). Fox
Sports Senior VP/Media Relations Vince Wladika refused to
comment specifically on Olbermann this morning, but he did
tell THE DAILY: "We're always interested in good talent."
OTHER NOTES: MEDIAWEEK's John Consoli writes that on
Madison Avenue, "there's a general feeling that Fox didn't
do so badly" with its World Series ratings. One anonymous
TV buyer: "You can't look at the World Series separately --
you have to look at the whole package. Fox had a relatively
good regular network (baseball) season. And Fox used the
(World Series) opportunity to promote its other shows and
its stars to a larger audience than it gets for its regular
programming" (MEDIAWEEK, 10/26 issue)....In N.Y., Richard
Sandomir asks if the MSG Network/Fox Sports NY "overflow"
dilemma will "provide ESPN with the impetus to start a local
cable sports channel?" ABC Sports/ESPN President Steve
Bornstein: "New York is an exciting market, but we haven't
had those discussions yet. We'd look at it seriously."
Sandomir adds that before ESPN could start ESPN NY, it
"would have to feel certain of the possibility of buying the
Yankees' cable rights" when they become available in 2000
(N.Y. TIMES, 10/27)....CBS has reached a multi-year deal
with NASCAR to televise three Craftsman Truck Series events
a year beginning in '99 (CBS)....In N.Y., Jon Elsen writes
that if GE Chair Jack Welch "had his druthers, he would
merge NBC with Barry Diller's USA Networks -- either
offloading the property altogether, or creating a hybrid
with a stronger presence in the cable business" (N.Y. POST,
10/27)....There is "talk that ABC will order nine more
episodes" of its first-year sitcom "Sports Night" (USA
TODAY, 10/27)....USA TODAY's Jon Saraceno reports that HBO
is "scrambling -- and irate," as neither Prince Naseem Hamed
nor Wayne McCullough, who are scheduled to fight on Friday,
have arrived in the U.S. yet. Hamed is having "visa
troubles," while McCullough is not in the States "because he
hasn't been paid" (Jon Saraceno, USA TODAY, 10/27).
