TV MONITOR: All three national nightly sports news shows
last night led with Vikings-Buccaneers, followed by Rams-
49ers. The first non-NFL report for the 10:00pm ET 60-minute
edition of FSN's "National Sports Report" was the PGA Tour's
National Car Rental Classic at 9:09 into the broadcast.
"NSR" had 25:02 of total NFL coverage. The first non-NFL
report for the 11:00pm ET 30-minute edition of CNN/SI's
"Sports Tonight" was also the National Car Rental Classic at
8:34. "Sports Tonight" had 15:04 of total NFL coverage. The
11:30pm ET (late due to NFL) 60-minute edition of ESPN's
"SportsCenter" also followed its lead NFL coverage with the
National Car Rental Classic at 12:07. "SportsCenter" had
24:58 of total NFL coverage (THE DAILY).
NOTES: ESPN2, which televises two-and-a-half hours of
boxing each week on its "Friday Night Fights" series, will
"add a Tuesday series for 13 weeks beginning May 15." ESPN
boxing coordinator Bob Yalen said that he "hopes to give the
two-hour show a summer feel by staging bouts at offbeat and
outdoor venues" (USA TODAY, 10/30)....The Bears have inked a
two-year deal with Chicago-based Ignite Sports Media "aimed
at boosting the team's presence on the Internet." While
terms of the deal were not disclosed, Ignite President Hank
Adams said the company is "shooting for the site to generate
$500,000 in net revenue" this season via ad and merchandise
sales. Meanwhile, last week Ignite launched the Blackhawks
Web site, "bringing to 17 the total number" of pro sports
teams using Ignite's services (KNIGHT RIDDER, 10/26)....In
N.Y., Keith Kelly wrote, "Look for fewer magazine launches to
reach newsstands in the coming year." At the American
Magazine Conference in Bermuda last week, magazine execs
congratulated themselves for "another record-setting year,"
but said that they are "reluctant to commit to as many major
launches as there were this year" (N.Y. POST, 10/29).
