Media Notes
In DC, Gene Mueller writes the 115-year-old magazine Sports Afield (SA) "has only itself to blame if it shuts its doors." The magazine "found itself stuffed with photos and articles about mountain biking, rock climbing, kayaking, hiking, hang-gliding and how to tell a buttercup from an acorn. ... SA's circulation dropped like a rock. Traditional readers, hunters and fisherman, stayed away in droves, and the yuppies who SA believed would take up the slack, never did" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 5/1). MEDIAWEEK's Lisa Granatstein writes SA "made a fatal error by straying from its fishing and hunting roots, wandering off to explore less traditional pursuits." Meanwhile, Time4 Media "has had talks with SA about its 447,000-name subscription file, as well as its trademark." SA COO Ken Elliott said that one other company "has also expressed interest" in the sub file, while five publishers "are interested in acquiring and continuing to publish the magazine." Granatstein writes "likely contenders" include ESPN Magazine (MEDIAWEEK, 4/29).
TEAM NEWS: The 49ers' became the first pro sports team to be nominated for a Webby Award. The site, 49ers.com, was nominated in the sports category with ESPN.com, fifaworldcup.com, surfline.com and backpacker.com (49ers). In Dallas, Mike McAllister offers his odds for the Award: 49ers.com is 100:1, FIFA 2:1, backpacker 3:1 and ESPN 5:1 (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/1)....FSN North's coverage of 35 regular-season T'Wolves games this season averaged a 2.2 Nielsen rating, a 47% increase over last season's 1.5. The 2.2 was the T'Wolves highest since a 2.5 in '97-98. Meanwhile, the Bucks' 36 regular-season games on the net averaged a 3.7, the highest Bucks' average ever on the net and a 32% increase over last season's 2.8. The 3.7 is the fifth-highest season average among all FSN regional nets that televise the NBA (FSN).
THE EVOLVING TV INDUSTRY: HDNet will carry NBC's Saturday telecast of the Kentucky Derby, as well as the other Triple Crown races. USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke writes the progress of HDTV "generally has been slow." HDNet Founder and Mavs Owner Mark Cuban: "There are two million HDTV sets in use, but only 350,000 homes will have access to HD signals. So our audience is still (too) small to affect the ratings. Our biggest promotional tools are our 1,500 retail stores that show off the picture to customers" (USA TODAY, 5/1)....In Milwaukee, Don Walker writes under the header, "Cable TV Takes Lead As Main Sports Provider." Pilson Communications President Neal Pilson, on the proposed NBA/AOL jointly-owned cable sports net: "The environment for launching new cable channels is hostile. I hope they succeed. But there are real concerns they can generate that level of subscription" (JOURNAL SENTINEL, 5/1).
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