By a vote of 81-18, the Senate passed a "massive overhaul of
telecommunications law that would affect every telephone user and
television viewer by freeing industries from many government
rules." Among the provisions: allowing cable and local phone
companies to enter each other's businesses immediately; easing
restrictions on foreign ownership of TV stations and phone
companies; and allowing a single company to own an unlimited
number of radio and TV stations covering up to 35% of an area's
population (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/16)....The TORONTO SUN reports
that Fox is preparing to bid for the '99 Pan-Am Games, which will
be held in Winnipeg. The bid is believed to be in the
neighborhood of C$15M (TORONTO SUN, 6/16).... The WASHINGTON
TIMES profiles Comsat's transition from satellites to sports and
entertainment. Comsat is seen as "building a Denver sports
empire along the lines of a Turner Broadcasting or Walt Disney
Co." (WASHINGTON TIMES, 6/16). ....The Blues extended their radio
deal with KMOX through the '99-2000 season (ST. LOUIS POST-
DISPATCH, 6/16).... Philadelphia's Prism/SportsChannel reports
sales leads for May were up 76% over '94 due to a promotion which
offered new subsribers a limited edition print signed by Phillies
Hall of Famers (Prism).....The NFL Panthers have sued WXRC-FM
over the station's use of the nickname "The Panther." The suit,
filed by Richardson Sports Limited Partnership, which owns the
team, and NFLP, claims that the station leads listeners to
believe that WXRC is affiliated with the team (CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, 6/16)....ESPN's Extreme Games will be distributed to
outlets in more than 150 countries (ESPN).
