TV MONITOR: Last night's 11:00pm ET editions of ESPN's
"SportsCenter" and CNN/SI's "Sports Tonight" both led with
Astros-Braves, followed by Padres-Mets. FSN's "Primetime"
(Fox Sports Net South) led with the Cardinals-Phillies game
being delayed due to debris being thrown on the field at
Cardinals CF JD Drew, followed by Astros-Braves (THE DAILY).
IN A BLUE JAYS MOOD: In Toronto, Chris Zelkovich
reports that Blue Jays TV ratings "continue to soar," and
numbers over the past two weeks "are more than" 40% above
the season average. Last Tuesday's Jays-Yankees game on TSN
was seen by an average of 656,000 viewers a minute, while
the July 27 Red Sox-Jays game scored a "season-high" 658,000
viewers. These strong numbers have helped boost the team's
TSN season average to 375,000 viewers a game, up 11% over
the first 55 games last year (TORONTO STAR, 8/11).
ADVICE ON HOW TO COVER YOUR TRACKS: In DC, Andrew Beyer
suggests that the TV Games Network improve its programming
by following the CNBC model, which "appeals simultaneously
to corporate executives and casual viewers with little
knowledge of finance. ... CNBC has proved it is possible to
engage viewers while presenting subject matter that is
sophisticated and technical, and TVG should aspire to do the
same for horse racing" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/11).
NOTES: ESPN and MLB have a November 15 court date for
their dispute over ESPN's intent to move three Sunday night
MLB games to ESPN2 in September (USA TODAY, 8/11)....In DC,
Lisa de Moraes tabs ABC's "Showdown At Sherwood" as one of
her "winners" for the TV week, as the event won the night on
Monday, August 2, with an average of 9.7 million viewers,
making it the No. 17-ranked show for the week (WASHINGTON
POST, 8/11)....Rupert Murdoch's News Int'l has launched an
online "football superbrand" called footballFC.com. The
site has "more than" 1,200 Web pages offering soccer news,
chats and photos. It is "intended to challenge the existing
leaders -- Soccernet and Football365" (London TELEGRAPH,
8/9)....BRILL'S CONTENT wonders whether it is right for
local TV stations to pay today's pro athletes to appear on
the station's sports programming. This "kind of pay-for-
players has become a common practice." Station execs "say
they shell out because it boosts ratings." One station
manager: "Why are we paying these millionaires? Because we
have to" (BRILL'S CONTENT, 9/99 issue)....The 2000 ECHL All-
Star Game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 from the Bi-
Lo Center in Greenville, SC, on January 19 at 7:00pm ET
(ECHL)....Dean Smith's autobiography, "Dean Smith: A Coach's
Life," will hit stores in mid-November. Co-author John
Kilgo: "It's very thorough, but it's not a kiss-and-tell
book or anything of that nature" (NEWS & OBSERVER, 8/10).
