MARKETPLACE ROUND-UP

          In N.Y., Richard Sandomir reviews the ad campaigns
     promoting ESPN's, CBS' and Fox's NFL coverage this season. 
     Fox is using Claymation characters from Will Vinton Studios
     in Portland, OR, to promote its "Fox NFL Sunday" cast.  Fox
     Sports Senior VP/Marketing Neal Tiles: "Our goal was to
     appeal to younger viewers who have abandoned the pre-game
     shows to watch other things. ... As a novelty, we think our
     guys, in Claymation form, will sell" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/17).
          THE FAST LANE: VA-based Lane Furniture has become title
     sponsor of "Skating Goes Country," an event created by MA-
     based StarGames, to be held at the Gaylord Entertainment
     Center on November 23, 1999.  The show will be taped for TV
     and air on TNN December 14 at 8:00pm (StarGames).
          HIT THE BRAKES: On SPEEDNET, Bill Koenig reports that
     "some companies long involved in auto racing aren't acting
     like it's boom times."  Longtime NASCAR sponsorship veteran
     William Dyer predicts that with the rising costs of NASCAR 
     sponsorships, more corporations will closely examine their
     budgets.  Dyer: "There will be some cutbacks.  Oil companies
     are not going to spend as much. ... With the new TV package,
     (advertising) rates will go up" (SPEEDNET, 9/17).