| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Friday, August 27, 2004
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | NBC’s Ratings For Primetime Athens Coverage Up 9% Compared With Syndey |
| • | Jury Selection In Kobe Bryant Sexual Assault Trial Begins Today In Eagle, CO |
| • | Fox And NBC’s “The Contender” Producers Putting On The Gloves Today |
| • | NHL’s Bill Daly, NHLPA’s Ted Saskin Sound Off On CBA Negotiations |
| • | In Case You Missed It: Natalie Coughlin And David Letterman Discuss Swimming |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
THE ATHENS SUMMER GAMES, DAY 15: TODAY’S HEADLINES
The Kathimerini (Greek English-language newspaper):
More Headlines:
Quotes From Athens:
“Being a fresh new face, I think it’s our job to prove that this sport is a very clean sport and it’s an honorable sport.”
--U.S. track & field athlete Shawn Crawford (“Nightly News,” NBC, 8/26).
“Nomar, we have one for the family. I love you. I love this team.”
--U.S. women’s soccer player Mia Hamm, after winning the Gold Medal (NBC, 8/26).
“If I’m FIFA, if I’m the [IOC], I’m not happy with this no matter what. It’s a Gold Medal match, players are on the field and there are no officials.”
--NBC’s JP Dellacamera, on officials being absent as the Brazil-U.S. women’s soccer Gold Medal match went into overtime (NBC, 8/26).
“I think it’s an image issue. I think it’s also [that] they cheer for the team that’s not supposed to win because the USA team has always been the strongest team, the team everybody wants to beat.”
-- Spanish men’s basketball team member Pau Gasol, on the crowd booing the U.S. team after their defeat of Spain yesterday (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/27).
NEWS FROM THE ATHENS GAMES: RATINGS CONTINUE TO SURGE
Through Wednesday, Day 13 of the Athens Games, NBC’s primetime broadcast average rating stands at 15.8/27, up 9% from the 14.5/25 earned in ’00. The following presents a day-by-day Nielsen ratings trend for the Athens Games:
| | ‘04 | ‘00 | +/- % |
| Opening Ceremony | 14.4/26 | 16.2/29 | -11.1% |
| 2nd Day | 11.7/23 | 13.1/25 | -10.7% |
| 3rd Day | 15.4/26 | 14.4/26 | 5% |
| 4th Day | 16.6/27 | 13.8/23 | 20% |
| 5th Day | 18.3/30 | 15.5/26 | 18% |
| 6th Day | 17.3/29 | 14.6/25 | 18% |
| 7th Day | 19.3/32 | 14.9/26 | 30% |
| 8th Day | 14.4/26 | 14.9/27 | -3% |
| 9th Day | 13.6/26 | 13.3/25 | 2% |
| 10th Day | 15.8/28 | 16.0/26 | -1% |
| 11th Day | 16.4/28 | 15.8/26 | 4% |
| 12th Day | 15.7/28 | 12.4/21 | 27% |
| 13th Day | 15.3/26 | 13.9/24 | 10% |
|
| Cumulative | 15.8/27 | 14.5/25 | 9% |
The AP reports that the IOC today rejected South Korea's request to "have duplicate Gold Medals awarded in men's all-around gymnastics because of a scoring mistake that gave the title to American Paul Hamm." IOC President Jacques Rogge: "We are not going to give medals for so-called humanitarian or emotional reasons" (AP, 8/27).
The KATHIMERINI reports that the IAAF Doping Review Board will begin an inquiry immediately into the “circumstances that led to the withdrawal of Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou from the Athens Olympics” (KATHIMERINI, 8/27).
The men’s 200m final yesterday was “marred by a long, ominous demonstration by Greek fans … who thought they would get to see the Americans challenge their reigning national track hero, Kostas Kenteris. Kenteris won the event in 2000 but was bounced out of these Olympics after failing to take a drug test” (N.Y. POST, 8/27).
USA TODAY’s Christine Brennan writes of the crowd at the Brazil-U.S. women’s Gold Medal soccer match, “The stands were more than half empty, signaling just how much respect the Greeks have for women’s ‘football.’ … But the press box was standing room only. That’s thanks to 1999” (USA TODAY, 8/27).
KOBE BRYANT SEXUAL ASSUALT TRIAL BEGINS TODAY IN EAGLE, CO
Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault trial begins today with jury selection at Eagle County Courthouse, with Judge Terry Ruckriegle presiding. The DENVER POST notes that prosecutors and defense attorneys “will struggle to find jurors who don't know the accuser or her family, who aren't star-struck by the NBA all-star, who will agree to consider only the evidence presented in court and who harbor no preconceived notions about the case” (DENVER POST, 8/27).
The L.A. TIMES notes Ruckriegle ruled that testimony will not be televised, “but swarms of reporters and camera crews have gathered anyway in a makeshift campground outside.” Court TV will air coverage of closing arguments (L.A. TIMES, 8/27).
View a timeline of the case.
FOX AND NBC’S “THE CONTENDERS” PRODUCERS HEADING TO COURT
DAILY VARIETY reports that California Judge Lisa Cole is expected to “rule in an afternoon hearing that it would be unconstitutional to enjoin Fox” and “The Next Great Champ” producers Endemol USA and Lock & Key from debuting the series September 7. The hearing is “part of a multipronged court action set off last week” by NBC’s “The Contender” producers DreamWorks and Mark Burnett (DAILY VARIETY, 8/27).
The Baltimore SUN notes that DreamWorks and Burnett are “not claiming copyright infringement or idea theft in their complaint.” Instead, they are alleging that in the “rush to get on air before ‘The Contender’, Fox and Endemol violated California boxing laws.” Fox “contends the allegations are a ruse” (Baltimore SUN, 8/27).
TODAY THE GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH…
Which former tennis player has begun working sparingly as a TV analyst, and recently broke his shoulder by flipping his golf cart? To find out, read the Sports Industrialists section of The Daily.
MORNING BRIEFS
NHL Exec VP & CLO Bill Daly, on the NHLPA: “It’s clear that they’re engaged in a charade. They want to fill the time between now and September 15, force a lockout and take their chances.” NHLPA Senior Dir of Business Affairs Ted Saskin: “To suggest that players are trying to get locked out is absolutely ludicrous” (AP, 8/27).
An investment group led by Arizona business exec Reggie Fowler has “yet to make a formal offer to purchase the Vikings,” and the group has “given no clear indication whether it intends to continue pursuing the franchise” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/27).
L.A.’s KCAL-Ind sports anchor Derrin Horton is joining NFL Network. His last day at KCAL is Saturday, and he begins his new job Monday (L.A. TIMES, 8/27).
The Mariners have extended their affiliation agreement with the Double-A Texas League San Antonio Missions through the ’06 season (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 8/27).
Fox Sports en Espanol yesterday inked a two-year TV rights deal with the Mexican Soccer League. Fox Sports en Espanol will air a minimum of 26 matches annually, beginning Saturday with Jaguares-Atlas (Fox Sports en Espanol).
DVD Marketing and Triumph Marketing have begun selling commemorative series of the ’04 BCS games in conjunction with ABC Sports.
THE BACK PAGES
The Morning Buzz offers today’s back page sports covers from some of the nation’s major metropolitan tabloids:
| | |
| N.Y. Post | N.Y. Daily News |
| | |
| Philadelphia Daily News | Newsday |
TODAY’S EVENTS
Nike and Serena Williams today will unveil her custom apparel for this year’s U.S. Open at Niketown in N.Y. Williams helped design the collection.
NESN will air live coverage of the WEEI/Jimmy Fund Radiothon from 6:00am-midnight ET. Among the features will be a panel discussion, “How To Build A Champion,” at the .406 Club at Fenway Park. Panelists include Patriots VP/Player Personnel Scott Pioli, Celtics Exec Dir of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and Bruins GM Mike O’Connell.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
Every Friday, the Morning Buzz highlights a video clip, chart or piece of information that might have fallen through the cracks. This week, David Letterman and U.S. Gold Medalist Natalie Coughlin discuss a hidden aspect of competitive swimming on CBS’ “Late Show” (THE DAILY).
IN OTHER NEWS….
The N.Y. POST reports that ABC “is quietly gunning to launch what would be the newest kind of cable channel on the block – a heavy blend of local and national news.” The channel – ABC News Now – was tested on digital cable tiers during last month’s Democratic National Convention and can now be “seen on several digital cable distributors across the U.S.” (N.Y. POST, 8/27).
The Television Bureau of Advertising yesterday reported that ad sales for local broadcast TV in the top 100 markets increased 8.3% to $4.2B in Q2, compared with $3.9B in the year ago period. The Presidential race “fueled an 84% spike in political spending in the quarter” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 8/27).
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that TiVo yesterday reported a FY Q2 loss that was “significantly less than analysts had predicted,” $10.8M, or $0.13 per share. Analysts expected a loss of $0.24 per share. The company added 288,000 subscribers in the quarter, bringing its total to 1.9 million (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 8/27).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Inventions.”
“11-year-old Frank Epperson invented this by accident when his fruit drink froze after being left outside overnight.”
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “I’ll tell you how hot it was today. It was so hot that Governor McGreevey was happy getting the cold shoulder from his wife. … According to a recent study, the toll booth guys are vulgar, they are rude and downright creepy, and I had an experience this morning that I think backs this up. I was driving through the toll booth and sitting there in the toll booth was a very cranky Al Gore. … New York City has been preparing for the Republican Convention for years, and we want everything to go well and now the mayor is telling New Yorkers to stay away from Madison Square Garden, where the Republican Convention is going to be. It’s a little offensive to live in your own town and have a guy tell you you can’t go, and then he said here’s what you do. Just pretend the Knicks are in town. … Everybody in New York City has Olympic fever, and I can tell you why. This morning on the subway I was groped Greco-Roman style” (“Late Show,” CBS, 8/26).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Ways New York City Is Preparing For The Republican National Convention” (“Late Show,” CBS, 8/26).
| 10) “Special group rate on rental cars for all visiting terrorists.” |
| 9) “To meet increased demand, extra muggers being dispatched to Midtown.” |
| 8) “Seventh Avenue sidewalks have been closed to taxi traffic.” |
| 7) “Neckline being raised on Statue of Liberty’s robe to John Ashcroft’s specifications.” |
| 6) “Hello Deli changing price of grilled cheese sandwich from $12 to $17.” |
| 5) “Three words: bomb sniffing rats.” |
| 4) “City has suspended alternate side of the street hooker rules.” |
| 3) “At President Bush’s request, the Empire State Building is on ‘King Kong alert.’” |
| 2) “While Cheney is in town, Waldorf-Astoria sign changed to read ‘Undisclosed Location Hotel.’” |
| 1) “Bill Clinton is showing up to the convention just to get patted down.” |
LAST NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
Last night’s 11:00pm ET edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” led with Astros-Cubs, followed by Giants-Marlins, and Padres-Mets.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“What is a popsicle?”
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