Fox Sports President David Hill has built Fox Sports
"from nothing to a major power," according to Barry Jackson
of the MIAMI HERALD. Rights deals to the NFL, MLB and the
NHL have all been negotiated under Hill's tenure, and he is
credited with developing "more creative ideas than anybody
in the business." In an interview with Jackson, Hill said
there is "a very good chance" that Keith Olbermann will
replace Chip Caray as the network's MLB host. Hill said he
feels there is "still some life left in tennis," as Fox
Sports will carry the Lipton finals in March, but he said
there are "no plans" to air golf or boxing, as he said that
there "aren't enough personalities for boxing to become a
real water-cooler sport" (MIAMI HERALD, 1/29).
A SEVEN-HOUR STRETCH: In Boston, Howard Manly writes
that Hill makes no "apologies" for having seven-hours of
Super Bowl pregame programming. Hill said when Fox went to
a four-hour pregame two years ago, it was met with
"unbridled criticism." Hill: "People asked, 'How could we
make four hours interesting?' We did and had a great bit of
success doing it. So I guess the answer to the critics is
yes, we are masochists." Fox will use a Super Bowl-record
31 cameras, 25 replay machines and six slow-motion machines
along with a blimp (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/29). In total, Fox will
telecast 11 shows and 16 hours of Super Bowl programming,
including the game, in the 35 hours between 11:00am Saturday
and 8:00pm Sunday PST (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 1/29).
SUPER BOWL NOTES: Fox will broadcast a Super Bowl-
themed episode of "The Simpsons" following its coverage of
Sunday's game. The show, titled "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday,"
will feature the voices of News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch,
and broadcasters Pat Summerall and John Madden (L.A. DAILY
NEWS, 1/29)....In DC, Leonard Shapiro writes that Fox
announcer Pat Summerall "found himself pulling for the
underdog" Falcons during the NFC title game. Summerall: "I
don't think I've ever said anything like that before. I'll
probably never be able to go back to Minnesota, but it's the
truth" (WASHINGTON POST, 1/29)....Many outlets preview Fox
analyst Cris Collinsworth's interview of his former
teammate, RB Stanley Wilson, in discussing Wilson's
suspension from Super Bowl XXIII for cocaine use. The
interview will air around 3:30pm ET Sunday (Mult., 1/29).
DON'T FORGET ABOUT US: Various networks are offering
programming alternatives to the Super Bowl halftime show.
MTV will feature "Celebrity Deathmatch Deathbowl '99" while
USA Network will offer "WWF Halftime Heat" (DAILY VARIETY,
1/29)....TNT will present "Friday Night At The Super Bowl,"
a 90-minute live special, tonight at 10:30pm ET (TNT).
WEB TRAFFIC: In Philadelphia, Frank Fitzpatrick writes
on the heavy Internet coverage of the game and calls it
"Super Bowl XXXIII.com," where "the only deadline that
matters is the present." One NFL employee: "I can't tell
you yet just how many of the 3,000 credentialed media here
are working for Web sites but I can tell you that it's a
hell of a lot more than last year" (PHILA. INQUIRER, 1/29).
