Media Notes
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Cox, FSN Southwest Likely To Bid For
TV Rights To Former Sonics Franchise |
CABLEFAX DAILY reports Cox likely will join FSN Southwest in "bidding for the telecast rights" for the former Sonics when they begin play in Oklahoma City. Cox declined to discuss any plans, but its "participation is expected" because it "dominates the [Oklahoma] market and already operates The Cox Channel, a local sports channel in the state that ironically was begat by the Hornets" when they played at the Ford Center from '05-07. FSN Southwest has approximately one million subscribers in Oklahoma, and the net said, "We look forward to conversations with the Sonics now that they are free to discuss their future in Oklahoma." FSN Southwest "anticipates competition from Cox" (CABLEFAX DAILY, 7/8).
HUG IT OUT: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir notes NBC's John McEnroe hugged Roger Federer in a post-match interview following his loss to Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon final Sunday. McEnroe's reaction "might have been over the top -- and so at odds with his historic brashness -- but it connected profoundly with his passionate, elder statesman's hope that tennis's popularity will reach its former peaks" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/8). In L.A. Tom Hoffarth wrote McEnroe "may get torched by other media critics for his Dr. Phil moment ... but we aren't getting in that line to slam him too much for it" (DAILYNEWS.com, 7/6). But in St. Pete, Tom Jones wrote, "McEnroe is a solid analyst. In fact, he's one of the best around. But every now and then he does something like that and makes you cringe" (TAMPABAY.com, 7/6).
PEOPLE & PERSONALITIES: SI.com's Richard Deitsch ranked ESPN's Scott Van Pelt No. 1 in his Media Power Rankings for the month of June. Deitsch: "In a remarkable bit of self-deprecating cool, Van Pelt mocked his famous answering message last month to honor the end" of former Deadspin.com Editor Will Leitch's tenure with the site. Deitsch also ranked ESPN.com's Elizabeth Merrill fourth (SI.com, 7/7)....Jen Patterson, the producer for Mike North's former WSCR-AM radio show in Chicago, yesterday submitted her resignation to the station. Patterson in an e-mail said of her future plans, "I will be working with Mike North, but I'm not at liberty to say where yet!" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/8)....MLB Rangers DH Milton Bradley, who will appear in his first career All-Star Game next week, will contribute occasional items to the N.Y. Times' Bats blog about his experience (NYTIMES.com, 7/7).
RATINGS NOTES: NBC Sunday for its 7:00-9:00pm ET coverage of the U.S. Olympic Track & Field and Swimming trials earned a 1.7/6 preliminary national Nielsen rating among adults 18-49, giving the net its third straight Sunday win in the demo. The coverage drew 5.7 million viewers overall (DAILY VARIETY, 7/8)....BBC1's coverage of the Nadal-Federer Wimbledon final Sunday drew 13.1 million viewers, the most-viewed men's final since Andre Agassi-Goran Ivanisevic in '92, which drew 13.8 million viewers (LONDON TIMES, 7/8).
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