Amid all the talk that ABC's 2nd half ratings could sufferif this year's Super Bowl is another NFC blowout, Dennis Lewin,Senior VP of Programming for ABC Sports, said there is nospecific barometer for a successful Super Bowl other than thefact that, "in all likelihood, it is going to be the highestrated television show of the year. And that is successful by anystandard." Lewin, who made his remarks during of news conferenceattended by members of ABC's Super Bowl broadcast team, alsonoted that ad sales for this year's game "are as good as they'veever been for the history of this game." Also in attendance:Announcers Al Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf, sidelinereporter Lynn Swann, pregame host Brent Musberger, pregameproducer Curt Gowdy Jr., "Monday Night Football" Producer KenWolfe and Exec Producer Jack O'Hara. Excerpts follow: THE GOALS OF THE BROADCAST: Ken Wolfe said that the goalswon't change and called the Super Bowl "a natural extension ofwhat we don on 'Monday Night' on a regular basis." He noted the"diverse audience" that tunes into "Monday Night," including"peripheral" males and women. THE "FOX BOX": Wolfe maintained his position that the on-screen scoreboard, instituted this year by Fox, is not necessaryand will not be used during the Super Bowl. Wolfe: "I think toomuch has been made of it." THE HYPE: Brent Musberger said there was no need to hypethe game in the pre-game show: "The printed media, ESPN and allthe cable channels do it for us. ... [Viewers will want to know]Is there a chance for an upset? If there is, if this game turnsthe corner in the 4th quarter and the Chargers have a chance towin it, then I think you'll see one of the greatest Super Bowlratings of all time." Gifford said if the Chargers were to win,it would probably be the biggest Super Bowl upset ever, at leastsimilar to Super Bowl III (Jets over Colts). Dierdorf counteredthat it would be "bigger" Super Bowl III (THE DAILY).
