CBS will cover each game in the NCAA Men's basketball
tournament which begins Thursday. CBS' strategy is to give
viewers home-market teams, but "make judgement calls on other TV
markets based on assumptions about regional interest and swing as
many people around as possible to catch the conclusion of games."
USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand questions why CBS' tournament
ratings "have been choppy" over the years, rather than
"indicating consistent annual growth." The network paid $1.7B
for rights through 2002, which accounts for 85%-90% of the NCAA's
budget. CBS' Al McGuire says the NCAA needs to be "more
competitive," adding that undergrads turning pro have hurt the
game's marketability. McGuire notes the NCAA "needs to realize
the NBA is the enemy. ... The NCAA is in la-la land on this.
They need a summit meeting with the NBA because the sport needs
organization, not just everybody doing what they want" (USA
TODAY, 3/11). In Tampa, David Whitley writes of the ratings
drop, "The more you see, the less you care. ... It didn't help
that this year's best college players are in the NBA. The most
valuable performer remaining was Robert Goulet" (TAMPA TRIBUNE,
3/11). Mitch Albom: "The best college basketball game now ...
is the rookie game at NBA All-Star Weekend" ("Sports Reporters,"
ESPN, 3/10).
DOLLAR FIGURE: In 1970, the NCAA Men's tournament produced
$550,000 in TV revenue. This year's total is $178.3M (N.Y. TIMES
MAGAZINE, 3/10 issue).
MORE MONKEY BUSINESS: On ESPN's "The Sports Reporters,"
Mike Lupica noted Jesse Jackson's reaction to comments made by
CBS analyst Billy Packer, remembering Jackson's '88 reference to
New York as "Hymie-Town." Lupica: "Could Packer have found a
better way to describe Allen Iverson? You bet. And Jesse
Jackson could have found a more useful way to get his name in the
papers. Before you kick somebody else around, always be sure to
take the foot out of your own mouth first" (ESPN, 3/10). In
Atlanta, Prentis Rogers notes that in an interview after the
Duke-Maryland game Friday, Maryland Coach Gary Williams told
Packer his players were running around "like monkeys" during
practice that week. Packer to a straight-faced Williams: "Funny
you should say that" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/9).
