TV MONITOR: Last night's 11:00pm ET edition of ESPN's
"SportsCenter," which aired at 11:20pm ET due to the "All-
Star Celebrity Hitting Challenge," and CNN/SI's "Sports
Tonight" both led with MLB's Home Run Derby, followed with a
report from Fenway Park previewing the All-Star Game. FSN's
"Primetime" (Fox Sports Net South) led with the Home Run
Derby and followed with Phillies P Curt Schilling being
named the NL starting pitcher (THE DAILY).
IT'S A WEB WORLD AFTER ALL: Walt Disney agreed to buy
the remaining shares of Web portal Infoseek and "plans on
merging Infoseek with its Buena Vista Internet Group into a
Web business called Go.com. Disney will own 72% of the new
Go.com" (AD AGE, 7/12). ESPN Internet Ventures is part of
the Buena Vista Internet Group. In N.Y., Joseph Gallivan
estimates that the deal "is valued at about" $1.62B (N.Y.
POST, 7/13). Disney Chair & CEO Michael Eisner: "We want to
be in control of our destinations. We want to control our
films, products and entertainment" (USA TODAY, 7/13).
Eisner said on CNN, "It gives us the ability to be
aggressive worldwide on the Internet, putting together
Disney.com, ESPN.com and ABCNews.com, and prepares us for
the broadband, streaming-video world that's ahead." Eisner,
on Disney's media presence: "ESPN is still dynamite. ABC is
doing fine. Pretty happy to have women's soccer on ESPN and
the Finals on ABC" ("Moneyline," CNN, 7/12).
ESPN UPS RATE BASE: ESPN Magazine has raised its
guaranteed rate base to 850,000. The new rate base takes
effect with the July 12 issue. The next increase will be in
January 2000, when guaranteed circulation hits 1 million.
The title had a rate base of 500,000 (ESPN Magazine).
