ESPN and Dish Network are teaming for their second interactive TV application with plans to launch an ESPN Interactive X Games channel around the Summer X Games, Aug. 3-6 in Los Angeles.

The Indy 500 feature drew 550,000 users.

The feature will be similar to the Interactive Indy channel the two rolled out at the end of May for ABC’s coverage of the Indianapolis 500. It will have six camera feeds, taped content from earlier in the day, stats and bios. It will be featured on Dish’s Home Channel 100 from 9-11 p.m. ET each night and will be free to Dish Network subscribers.

Interactive Indy wound up being a popular feature for Dish, logging 550,000 users, according to Matt Murphy, ESPN senior vice president of broadband and interactive sales. Dish Network has 12.2 million subscribers.

Murphy said the interactive applications represent “a place for us to start on ITV.” EchoStar, which runs Dish Network, and ESPN plan to launch ITV channels around six events per year, centered on events where ESPN holds the interactive rights.

With the Dish Network channels not being exclusive, Murphy expects cable operators to begin delivering the interactive applications this year. He also predicted that ESPN’s linear channels would roll out ITV applications soon.

ESPN’s push into the ITV space comes after a year’s absence, after ESPN ended ITV deals with DirecTV and Cablevision.

“It’s good to be back in the game,” Murphy said. “The ITV environment has been full of fits and starts, but I firmly believe its time is now.”

Though ESPN signed Capital One as a sponsor for Interactive Indy, its Interactive X Games channel will not have a sponsor, Murphy said, citing timing problems.

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Three California markets topped the list of local-market ratings for ABC’s coverage of Italy’s win over France in the title game of this year’s FIFA World Cup. Only four MLS markets (in bold) were among the top 10. ABC’s coverage of the Sunday, July 9, match began at 1:30 p.m. ET. Nationally, the game posted a fast-national 7.0 rating, averaging nearly 12 million viewers and more than 7.7 million households.

Top 10

Rank	Market (size*)	Avg. rating/share
1	San Diego (26)	14.0/30
2	San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (6)	13.6/33
3	Los Angeles (2)	12.3/26
4	New York (1)	11.6/26
5	Orlando (20)	10.3/19
6	Austin, Texas (53)	9.9/22
7	Denver (18)	9.8/24
8	Philadelphia (4)	9.6/22
9	Washington, D.C. (8)	9.5/22
10t	Minneapolis-St. Paul (15)	9.2/25
10t	Seattle (13)	9.2/25
10t	Baltimore (24)	9.2/19
10t	West Palm Beach, Fla. (38)	9.2/18

Other MLS markets

Rank	Market (size*)	Avg. rating/share
15	Salt Lake City (36)	8.8/27
19t	Boston (5)	8.2/19
21t	Kansas City (31)	7.9/16
36t	Chicago (3)	6.8/16
36t	Columbus (32)	6.8/14
39	Houston (10)	6.6/12
41	Dallas-Fort Worth (7)	6.4/14

* Market size ranking among all U.S. markets by number of TV households.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

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Fox posted an average rating of 5.6 for 11 races on its NASCAR Nextel Cup Series schedule this year, not including two races delayed by rain. That compares with a 13-race average of 6.0 last year. Following is a look at ratings for races at the midpoint of NASCAR’s 2006 season.

				Avg. rating / share (no. of HHs, 000s)
Date	Net	Race	Site	2006	2005	Change
July 1	Fox	Pepsi 400	Daytona Beach, Fla.	5.1/11	5.5/13	-7.3%
June 25	Fox	Dodge/Save Mart 350	Sonoma, Calif.	5.1/11	5.7/13	-10.5%
June 18	Fox	3M Performance 400 (a)	Brooklyn, Mich.	4.5/11	4.7/12	-4.3%
June 11	Fox	Pocono 500	Pocono, Pa.	5.2/12	5.6/14	-7.1%
June 4	FX	Neighborhood Excellence 400	Dover, Del.	4.6/ (4,079)	4.9/(4,245)	-6.1%
May 28	Fox	Coca-Cola 600	Concord, N.C.	5.1/11	6.1/13	-16.4%
May 20	FX	Nextel All-Star Challenge (a)	Concord, N.C.	3.4/ (3,057)	4.3/(3,691)	-20.9%
May 13	Fox	Dodge Charger 500	Darlington, S.C.	4.8/10	5.6/11	-14.3%
May 6	FX	Crown Royal 400	Richmond, Va.	4.3/ (3,776)	4.4/(3,779)	-2.2%
May 1	Fox	Aaron's 499 (b)	Talladega, Ala.	4.4/11	7.6/18	NA
April 22	Fox	Subway Fresh 500	Phoenix	4.8/9	5.1/10	-5.9%
April 9	Fox	Samsung / RadioShack 500	Fort Worth, Texas	5.4/13	5.7/15	-5.3%
April 2	Fox	DirecTV 500	Martinsville, Va.	6.2/15	5.1/13	+21.6%
March 26	Fox	Food City 500	Bristol, Tenn.	6.2/14	6.3/16	-1.6%
March 20	FX	Golden Corral 500 (b) (c)	Atlanta	1.5/ (1,293)	5.5/13	NA
March 12	Fox	UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400	Las Vegas	6.2/12	6.4/14	-3.1%
Feb. 26	Fox	Auto Club 500	Fontana, Calif.	7.4/14	7.9/16	-6.3%
Feb. 19	NBC	Daytona 500 (c)	Daytona Beach, Fla.	11.3/23	10.9/23	+3.7%
Feb. 12	TNT	Budweiser Shootout (c)	Daytona Beach, Fla.	4.5/ (4,090)	5.3/10	NA

Notes: All cable marks are coverage-area ratings. Dates and names are for events as run in 2006, with additional notes below.
NA: Not applicable
(a) Race shortened or delayed by rain.
(b) Scheduled Sunday race postponed to Monday because of rain.
(c) Race aired on Fox in 2005.
Source: Fox, SportsBusiness Daily archives
Research by Katherine Johnson-Reid, SportsBusiness Daily

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Memphis, a market whose NBA team had the No. 24 pick in this year’s NBA draft, posted the highest local-market rating for ESPN’s June 28 selection show coverage, and three non-team markets — Louisville, Hartford and Raleigh-Durham — were among the nation’s top 10. Ratings for Toronto, whose Raptors had the No. 1 overall pick, were not available.

Nationally, ESPN posted a coverage-area rating of 2.4 for the draft, up 14 percent from 2005.

Top 10

Rank	Market (size*)	Avg. rating/share	Change from 2005
1	Memphis (44)	5.7/9	+54.1%
2	Louisville, Ky. (50)	4.5/8	-29.7%
3	Cleveland (16)	3.6/7	+71.4%
4t	Hartford, Conn. (28)	3.4/6	+88.9%
4t	Indianapolis (25)	3.4/6	-12.8%
6	Raleigh-Durham (29)	3.3/6	-44.1%
7	Philadelphia (4)	3.1/6	+121.4%
8	Charlotte (27)	2.9/6	-23.7%
9	Atlanta (9)	2.8/5	+7.7%
10	Detroit (11)	2.7/5	-27.0%

Other NBA team markets

Rank	Market (size*)	Avg. rating/share	Change from 2005
13t	Washington, D.C. (8)	2.5/5	+31.6%
13t	Houston (10)	2.5/4	+47.1%
15	Milwaukee (33)	2.4/4	-33.3%
17	Dallas-Fort Worth (7)	2.2/4	+22.2%
18t	Oklahoma City (45)	2.1/4	-8.7%
18t	San Antonio (37)	2.1/4	-34.4%
18t	Orlando (20)	2.1/3	+75.0%
23t	New York (1)	2.0/4	0.0%
23t	Miami-Fort Lauderdale (17)	2.0/3	-23.1%
26	Chicago (3)	1.9/4	0.0%
28t	Denver (18)	1.7/4	+6.2%
28t	Los Angeles (2)	1.7/4	-10.5%
28t	Portland (23)	1.7/4	-45.2%
33t	Minneapolis-St. Paul (15)	1.6/4	+6.7%
37t	Boston (5)	1.4/3	+27.3%
40t	Salt Lake City (36)	1.3/4	-53.6%
46t	Phoenix (14)	1.1/3	-45.0%
46t	Sacramento (19)	1.1/3	-35.3%
46t	Seattle (13)	1.1/3	-50.0%
52	San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (6)	0.9/3	-59.1%
NA	New Orleans (43)	NA	NA

* Market size ranking among all U.S. markets by number of TV households.
NA: Not available
Source: Nielsen Media Research
Research by Katherine Johnson-Reid, SportsBusiness Daily

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FOR THE WEEK OF 6/26/06 - 7/2/06

DOUBLE COVERAGE: Univision’s coverage of the FIFA World Cup earned it four of network TV’s 10 most-watched sports programs between June 26 and July 2, but ABC drew the largest soccer audience of the week. Coverage of England-Portugal on July 1 simultaneously drew 3.6 million households on ABC and 1.8 million households on Univision. Fox’s Saturday night coverage of NASCAR’s Pepsi 400 ranked No. 1 for the week.

Top 10 Network Sports Telecasts
Rank	Net.	Program	Date	Rating	Share	Households Watching (000s)
1	FOX	NASCAR: NEXTEL CUP SERIES PEPSI 400	7/1	5.1	11	5,569
2	ABC	WORLD CUP: ENGLAND-PORTUGAL	7/1	3.3	10	3,627
3	NBC	GOLF: U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN (SUNDAY COVERAGE)	7/2	3.1	8	3,364
4	FOX	MLB: FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL (REGIONAL COVERAGE)	7/1	2.6	7	2,824
5	UNI	WORLD CUP: BRAZIL-FRANCE	7/1	2.3	6	2,559
6	UNI	WORLD CUP: ARGENTINA-GERMANY	6/30	1.6	5	1,786
7	UNI	WORLD CUP: ENGLAND-PORTUGAL	7/1	1.6	5	1,764
8	NBC	GOLF: U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN (SATURDAY COVERAGE)	7/1	1.6	4	1,725
9	UNI	WORLD CUP: BRAZIL-GHANA	6/27	1.4	5	1,530
10	NBC	TENNIS: WIMBLEDON (EARLY ROUND PLAY)	7/1	1.3	4	1,480

TRIFECTA: ESPN posted nine of the week’s 10 most-watched sporting events on cable. The net’s Wednesday night NBA draft coverage averaged 2.2 million households. Its Saturday afternoon World Cup coverage of Brazil vs. France attracted 2.6 million households, the network’s biggest audience for a non-U.S. team game. The final game of the College World Series drew just under 2 million households on a Monday night.

Top 10 Cable Sports Telecasts
				(RATING)
Rank	Net	Program	Date	National	Cov. Area	Share	Households Watching (000s)
1	ESPN	WORLD CUP: BRAZIL-FRANCE	7/1	2.4	2.9	7	2,598
2	ESPN	NBA DRAFT	6/28	2.0	2.4	4	2,201
3	ESPN	MLB: SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL: N.Y. METS-N.Y. YANKEES	7/2	1.9	2.3	5	2,118
4	ESPN	COLLEGE WORLD SERIES: UNC-OREGON ST. (CHAMP. GAME)	6/26	1.8	2.2	4	1,968
5	ESPN	WORLD CUP: ARGENTINA-GERMANY	6/30	1.6	2.0	6	1,807
6	ESPN	WORLD CUP: BRAZIL-GHANA	6/27	1.6	1.9	6	1,722
7	ESPN	WORLD CUP: SWITZERLAND-UKRAINE	6/26	1.5	1.9	5	1,705
8	ESPN	WORLD CUP: FRANCE-SPAIN	6/27	1.4	1.7	5	1,589
9	FX	NASCAR: BUSCH SERIES WINN-DIXIE 250	6/30	1.4	1.7	3	1,522
10	ESPN	WORLD CUP: AUSTRALIA-ITALY	6/26	1.3	1.6	5	1,455

Rating — Estimated percent of all TV households of persons tuned to a specific program source. One ratings point equals 1,102,000 homes.
Share — Estimated percent of all households using television at that time which are tuned to a specific program source.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

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Four former executives from SFX Sports Group and SFX Media Group are expected to announce this week the formation of Evolution LLC. The company will be based in Manhattan and will feature two divisions: Evolution Media Talent and Evolution Management & Marketing.

Rick Diamond and Seth Mayeri will lead the Media Talent division, while Josh Schwartz and Brian Samuels will head the Management & Marketing department.

“We’re not just close colleagues, we are close friends,” Mayeri, 35, said. “There was no other way to do it. This is just what we wanted.”

Diamond and Mayeri were able to bring over nearly all of their 80 to 100 clients from SFX. They represent talent in news and entertainment, and the biggest names who are now under the Evolution umbrella are CBS/Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis, ABC/ESPN’s Eric Wynalda and NBC’s Bud Collins.

Before forming the company, Diamond and Mayeri first had to work out an agreement with SFX to keep their clients. Diamond described the process as “amicable.” Neither he nor Mayeri would give details about what they agreed upon.

Diamond and Mayeri both broke into the business 13 years ago under Art Kaminsky at Athletes and Artists. They stayed with it as it transferred from the Marquee Group to SFX and then finally to Clear Channel, so they have gone from a small business to a conglomerate.

“Now, here we are part of a small business again, so it is kind of like full-circle,” Diamond, 37, said. “Seth and I will continue to focus on representing media talent. Our partners, Josh and Brian, will handle talent marketing and other areas such as television production and development.”

Is this the real game or the painstakingly reconstructed DirecTV ad? (It’s the former.)

Recently, Samuels was the talent coordinator for Spike TV’s “Pros vs. Joes.” After helping to bring in the likes of Jerry Rice, Bo Jackson and John Rocker, Samuels was promoted to senior producer. Under the new Evolution umbrella, Schwartz will also play a part in producing “Pros vs. Joes.”

The staff is currently “five and growing,” Diamond said, adding, “Our goal is to continue to build on what we did before but now in an environment where we are a small business, where we are our own bosses and [where] we can help [our clients] achieve their goals ourselves and not have to worry about corporate parents’ objections and things like that.”

DIRECT-TD: In DirecTV’s new ad campaign, it appears that the Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning is taking a moment from throwing a touchdown pass to discuss the merits of NFL’s “Sunday Ticket” package. While diehard fans will be able to tell what was staged and what was real, the shots are pretty seamless because the producers of the ad, Deutsch, Los Angeles, did not just place Manning in front of a blue Computer Generating Imagery screen.

Instead, Deutsch rented out the RCA Dome and put Manning and his actual offensive linemen in the exact same position as when he threw the touchdown pass against the Tennessee Titans on Dec. 4 last year.

“We spent a lot of time meticulously matching the angles and the cuts and the lighting to really replicate what was actually happening on the field,” said Eric Hirshberg, Deutsch L.A.’s president and chief creative officer.

CAPITAL GAIN: After starting as a New York Knicks public relations intern 12 years ago, Eric Gelfand is leaving his position as vice president of MSG Networks and Sports Public Relations to join Sports Capital Partners. While Gelfand’s new title is undefined, he will oversee marketing and public relations for the group.

“While I will miss the Garden dearly, this is an opportunity that I am extremely excited about and one that I am certainly looking forward to getting started,” Gelfand said.

SCP is a collection of Madison Square Garden employees. Its leaders — Dave Checketts, Mike McCarthy and Ken Munoz — all have Garden ties.

The group just bought the St. Louis Blues and the Savvis Center. It also owns the MLS Real Salt Lake.

With their MSG Networks connections, it wouldn’t be surprising if SCP becomes a major player in television eventually.

Andrew Marchand covers sports media for the New York Post.

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XOS Technologies Inc. and wireless content developer Digital Orchid Inc. have agreed to a multiyear partnership designed to expand significantly the level of mobile offerings dedicated to college sports.

The deal calls for the companies to develop content such as live and archived video and audio, in-game scoring, photo archives, and news feeds using XOS’s foothold in developing digital offerings for college athletic programs and Digital Orchid’s established base in creating and distributing content via wireless carriers.

“There’s not really much out there for college fans right now,” said Bobby Betros, Digital Orchid co-founder and chief technology officer. “It’s way behind a lot of other properties. Your options right now are pretty much logos and fight songs, and a lot of them aren’t really very good quality ones at that. … There’s a lot of room to move forward in this space.”

Financial terms were not disclosed, but similar arrangements in the mobile industry have often centered on revenue-sharing agreements. Specific mobile offerings, to be marketed primarily through colleges’ athletic Web sites and the content decks of mobile devices, will become available for the 2006 college football season with a similar push for basketball to follow.

“Neither one of us are consumer-facing brands, but this was an area we needed to ramp up to really offer a one-stop solution,” said XOS Network President Nada Usina.

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