TV MONITOR: Last night's 11:00pm ET edition of FSN's
"Primetime" (Fox Sports Net South) led with Mets-Expos and
followed with Braves-Marlins. ESPN's 11:00pm ET edition of
"SportsCenter," which aired on ESPN2 due to "MLB on ESPN,"
led with Blue Jays-Indians, followed by Orioles-Red Sox.
CNN/SI's 11:00pm ET edition of "Sports Tonight" led with an
MLB umpires update, followed by Orioles-Red Sox (THE DAILY).
TV EMMYS: The '99 Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations
were announced this morning. Foxsports.com was nominated
for "Best Commercial" for its "Feet" spot by Cliff Freeman &
Partners, NY. ABC's "Sports Night" received three Emmy
nominations, including Outstanding Directing for a Comedy
Series and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. TBS's
telecast of the Goodwill Games Opening Celebration was
nominated for Outstanding Choreography (THE DAILY).
AND THEY'RE OFF? The DAILY RACING FORM's Matt Hegarty
reported that Television Games Network (TVG), which launched
last week with 1.1 million subscribers, is seeking "to turn
racing neophytes into fans" by using "on-air talent that is
not necessarily well versed in racing" (DAILY RACING FORM,
7/21). Meanwhile, the DRF's Stan Bergstein reviews TVG's
"long-awaited racing" TV show, which aired last week, and
called it's first effort "neither funny nor educational nor
entertaining. It was an embarrassment to both TVG and Fox
television." The "awful start may be the result of rushing
to launch," as Bergstein adds that TVG "has great merit and
tremendous potential" (DAILY RACING FORM, 7/22).
ABC TO OFFER MAKE GOODS? ELECTRONIC MEDIA reported that
ratings for the third round of the British Open "fell" 45%
from last year after ABC moved the event to ESPN due to news
coverage of JFK Jr.'s missing plane. The third round pulled
a 1.8 national rating, translating to a 2.4 rating in ESPN's
cable universe and 1.79 million HHs, compared to last year's
3.3 rating on ABC. It is "not clear" if ABC will give
advertisers make-goods. ABC Sports Dir of Media Relations
Mark Mandel: "We always take care of our advertisers one way
or another" (ELECTRONIC MEDIA, 7/20).
MORE NOTES: In L.A., Larry Stewart reviews Fox Sports
Net's "Goin' Deep," and writes that as the show has begun
its third season, its "quality continues to improve."
Stewart adds that host Chris Myers "is one of the best
interviewers in the business, and the production staff ...
is a good one" (L.A. TIMES, 7/22)....SportsTicker will
provide its news service to MyBC.com, which features
Canada's newest sports Web site (SportsTicker).
