TIME WARNER REPORTEDLY CLOSE TO OLYMPICS CARRIAGE AGREEMENT

          Time Warner Cable (TW) is "close to a deal" to carry
     273 hours of NBC's "cable-exclusive" 2000 Olympics coverage
     on TW's cable systems, according to John Dempsey of DAILY
     VARIETY, who writes the "longterm agreement" is expected to
     "encompass all of the Olympic Games through 2008."  TW "had
     rejected NBC's Olympics package since it hit the marketplace
     almost a year ago as too costly," but sources say that TW
     changed its mind "at least" for two reasons.  One is that
     NBC offered TW a "multimillion payment to help offset the $8
     a subscriber for each of TW's 12.7-million customers that
     NBC has imposed as a surcharge" for the extra cable coverage
     on CNBC and MSNBC.  TW joins AT&T, Charter, Cox and DirecTV
     among those reaching deals with NBC (DAILY VARIETY, 5/17).