Media Notes

NFL Senior VP/Digital Media Brian Rolapp said that NBC's four "Sunday Night Football Extra" productions on NFL.com thus far this year "drew more than 500,000 separate online users ... and the number of average users has increased 33% since the opener." USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand notes "not surprisingly, users hang around awhile -- averaging 45 minutes of video streaming a game" (USA TODAY, 9/25).

EYE-PLEASING: In DC, Dan Levy wrote CBS' production of its NFL coverage "is fantastic." Levy: "Their bells and whistles aren't as loud as those on the other networks. When the lineups are introduced, we're given static headshots with a description of key players. There is no celebrity. There is no player making inside jokes. Thank goodness there is no giant metal robot spiking anything." But Levy wrote CBS does "like to go to commercial." Levy: "Their breaks seem short, but why wouldn't they be when a break is taken before and after every kick?" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 9/24).

NEW VENTURE: DAILY VARIETY's Steve Clarke reports U.K.-based Endemol "will produce and distrib[ute] sports content, including covering live events, factual and sports entertainment programming plus magazine shows." Endemol also "aims to develop and manage sports channels across TV and digital media platforms." Clarke notes there are "no plans to bid for sports rights" at this stage. Endemol Sport, which will be based in London, "will be led by" former IMG execs Lawrence Duffy and Gregg Oldfield, who will be joint Managing Dirs. Duffy and Oldfield will start January 1 (DAILY VARIETY, 9/25).

NOTES: On Long Island, Neil Best cites sources as saying that the Mets are now "likely to remain at" WFAN-AM. WFAN Operations Dir Mark Chernoff would not comment beyond saying, "We've had a great long-term relationship and we hope it continues" (NEWSDAY, 9/25)...."The Hockey Theme," TSN's new hockey theme song, which it acquired after the CBC failed to reach a deal with the song's composer, has been "re-recorded by 54 members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra" (CP, 9/24).