ABC officials "are unfazed" by the "unlikely emergence"
of two teams from "relatively small media markets" for
Sunday's Super Bowl, according to Howard Manly of the BOSTON
GLOBE. Manly notes "not since the first Super Bowl," which
featured Packers-Chiefs, have the teams "hailed from
smaller" TV markets. But ABC officials "are banking on
viewers being drawn in even though the teams are relatively
unknown." ABC Sports Dir of PR Mark Mandel: "With so many
fresh faces and stories, this Super Bowl could be one of the
most interesting in recent memory. The fact that the two
teams are not marquee names won't be a factor at all."
Manly: "The Super Bowl is virtually a national holiday. ...
It likely will be the most-watched television event of the
year" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/25).
RATINGS NOTES: BLOOMBERG's Rick Westhead wrote that
yesterday's preliminary overnight Nielsen ratings from the
networks for Sunday's AFC and NFC Championship games "may
have been skewed" because an ice storm in Atlanta, the tenth
largest TV market, prevented the market "from being
included" (BLOOMBERG, 1/24). Meanwhile, in Dallas, Barry
Horn reports that Sunday's Titans-Jaguars playoff game
pulled a 26.9 local rating in Houston (D.M. NEWS, 1/25). In
Nashville, John Shiffman reports that the game earned a 49.1
local rating, translating to 406,000 homes. The rating
"eclipsed" last week's record 47.1 rating for the Titans-
Colts game and "is believed to be a Nashville TV record for
a sporting event." WTVF-CBS Program Dir Mark Binda: "The
Titans ratings have been historic" (TENNESSEAN, 1/25).
SUPER BOWL NOTES: USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke reports that
despite an ice storm in Atlanta, FSN employees managed to
produce five national "Primetime" shows from Atlanta's
Centennial Olympic Park. FSN Exec VP Arthur Smith: "We had
to chip the ice off Marv Levy, but he's OK." CNN/SI NFL
analyst Ron Meyer, on the weather conditions in Atlanta:
"The same NFL founding fathers who have given us instant
replay picked Atlanta for the Super Bowl. The one demand I
have for the Super Bowl is palm trees" (USA TODAY,
1/25)....ABC's SB coverage Sunday will begin at 2:00pm ET
with Chris Berman hosting the pregame show. Berman will be
joined by various guests, including 49ers QB Steve Young and
"GMA" host Charles Gibson. The game is scheduled to start
at 6:18pm ET (B. GLOBE, 1/25)....ESPN's Andrea Kremer, who
was expecting a baby next month, was admitted to an Atlanta
hospital and is expected to deliver the baby prior to
Sunday's game. Kremer, who says she is "arranging to cut
voice-overs" for her pieces in the hospital room: "One of my
producers said my first words [after delivering the baby]
will be, 'Cut the cord and get me (Ravens coach) Brian
Billick on the phone" (USA TODAY, 1/25).
