TV MONITOR: Last night's 10:00pm ET 60-minute edition
of FSN's "National Sports Report" led with Yankees-Mariners
ALCS Game Five, followed by Raiders-Chiefs. "NSR" reported
on the MLS Cup at 53:37 into the broadcast, and had 11:04 of
total MLB coverage and 19:50 of total NFL coverage. Last
night's 11:00pm ET 60-minute edition of CNN/SI's "Sports
Tonight" led with Yankees-Mariners, followed by an update on
Cardinals-Mets NLCS Game Four. "Sports Tonight" did not
report on MLS Cup 2000, and had 18:40 of total MLB coverage
and 16:41 of total NFL coverage. Last night's 11:30pm ET
(late due to NFL) 60-minute edition of ESPN's "SportsCenter"
led with Cardinals-Mets, followed by Yankees-Mariners.
"SportsCenter" reported on MLS Cup 2000 at 57:06, and had
15:10 of total MLB coverage and 18:24 of total NFL coverage.
TURNER SOUTH'S FUTURE IN SPORTS: In Atlanta, Matt
Kempner reported on Turner South, and noted that its sports
programming "is a strength but also a potential
vulnerability." Fox Sports has sued Turner South,
contending the net is an RSN and violates a no-compete
clause Turner signed when it sold its stake in what became
FSN South. Turner South GM David Rudolph "declines to
predict what Turner South would do if it lost the lawsuit,
which is scheduled to go before a judge next spring." Paul
Kagan Senior Analyst John Mansell, who has served as an
expert witness for Fox in its lawsuit, said it "would
certainly be very difficult" for Turner South to continue
without sports (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/14).
NOTES: USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand: "This week, CBS is
expected to sign on for a third season of allowing viewers
to get out-of-market games in the NCAA's men's basketball
tournament games via ... DirecTV" (USA TODAY, 10/16)....In
Toronto, Al Strachan: "There are new media accessibility
rules in the [NHL] this year. Of the 30 teams, 29 have
complied willingly. The other is the Toronto Maple Leafs"
(TORONTO SUN, 10/15)....USA TODAY's Mike Snider writes that
the rollout of HDTV is "rolling to a stop," as networks
"aren't increasing the high-definition offerings among
prime-time programming." Last year, Panasonic underwrote
"MNF" telecasts, but without their support, "MNF" is "back
to standard" broadcasts this season (USA TODAY, 10/16).
