Media Notes

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's James Hibberd reported the five broadcast nets "received a collective 8.8% increase in adult demo viewership during premiere week." Like last year, "younger-skewing" dramas like CW's "90210" (up 27%) and Fox' "Fringe" (up 22%) "gained the most from DVR use." Reality series like ABC's "Extreme Makeover" (up 3%) and sports telecasts like "SNF" (flat) "benefited the least" from DVR usage (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 10/14).

VALUABLE PROPERTY: MULTICHANNEL NEWS' Linda Haugsted reported NFL Network "has the highest perceived value among digital networks" according to a Beta Research digital-cable subscriber study. Consumers polled for the study valued NFL Net at $2.02, but the net "placed 10th overall on the list" of favorite digital-cable networks. Meanwhile, ESPNews was valued at $1.46. The poll "queried a national sample of 1,957 digital cable subscribers from 32 cable systems" and "measured 40 of the digital-basic networks carried by most of the cable systems surveyed" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 10/14).

IN THE LIMELIGHT: In N.Y., Jack Bell reported tonight's U.S.-Trinidad & Tobago CONCACAF men's soccer match will air on ESPN in HD, an "indication of how far television coverage of soccer in the United States has come when the discussion is about the quality of the broadcast, rather than whether the games will be available at all." ESPN Coordinating Producer for Domestic Soccer Properties Tom McNeely: "We have made a commitment to do MLS games in [HD], but when you go to Cuba or Guatemala, you can't justify bringing all the extra equipment" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/14).

FINANCIAL PLANNING: Univ. of Florida President Dr. Bernie Machen yesterday said that the SEC "will use revenue from its new, multimillion dollar television contracts to help fund its academic programs." Machen: "It's a huge amount of money, and it's a long enough period of time that the athletic programs can budget. We know what the funding is and that source is going to be over a 15-year period" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 10/15).