Time Warner Cable has acquired the exclusive local TV rights
to the home games of the Memphis Pharaohs of the Arena Football
League. In addition, the deal calls for a home shopping show for
next season. Pharaohs GM Eric Leins noted that Time Warner's
interactive network, TV Memphis, opens in '96 and said "the
options are limitless" in terms of team-fan interaction (Arena
Football)....Previewing NBC's coverage of the U.S. Open on NBC
this weekend, Phil Mushnick writes that NBC analyst Roger Maltbie
"is on the verge of a major breakthrough." Maltbie "has just
enough flair and frankness to become the reasonable alternative
to the self-serving and rehearsed excesses of [CBS golf analyst
Gary] McCord" (N.Y. POST, 6/14)....Time Warner's Pathfinder World
Wide Web site was rated one of the top three by INTERACTIVE AGE
magazine. Pathfinder offers content from many of the company's
divisions, including Sports Illustrated (Time Warner)....In a
profile of Internet-focused ad agencies, Harry Berkowitz notes
that Reebok chose On Ramp, headed by former MTV VJ Adam Curry,
instead of a large agency to establish its Net presence. Reebok
VP for Event Marketing Brenda Goodell: "Adam is really of the
MTV culture, and he is extremely of the Internet culture"
(NEWSDAY/Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 6/14)....Jeff Beauchamp, GM of
WBAL-AM, flagship station of the Orioles' radio network, called
MLB's decision to limit the breaks between innings "another
classic example of the owners failing to understand what they're
doing" (Baltimore SUN, 6/14)....In Dallas, Barry Horn notes that
Sunday's Devils-Flyers got a 14.1 local rating in Philadelphia,
but only a 2.8 in New York. The 2.8 mirrored the game's national
overnight rating. Horn: "Now you know why the Devils ... are
thinking of relocating to Nashville" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS,
6/14)....In promoting its application to get a license for a
Canadian regional all-sports cable Channel (which would be called
"S3"), CTV notes that the following teams did not have 50% of the
games on English-language TV -- Nordiques (11%), Canadiens (43%),
Jets (39%), Oilers (44%), Canucks (42%), and Expos (17%) (William
Houston, Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 6/14).
