Former ABC Sports President Dennis Swanson was named
President & GM of WNBC, the NBC-owned TV station in New York.
Swanson replaces Bill Bolster, who will focus on his job as
President of CNBC (AD AGE ONLINE, 6/27). Swanson: "It's great.
I get to go to the Olympics. It's a great time to be coming to
this network" (USA TODAY, 6/27).
NBC: NBC and Intel Corp. announced a deal on Intercast
technology, the transmission of TV video and internet content to
computers. They plan to use the technology during the Atlanta
Games (AD AGE ONLINE, 6/27).
FOX: Michael Freeman of MEDIAWEEK looks at Fox's "slow
start" to their MLB Saturday afternoon coverage. Fox Exec
Producer Ed Goren: "We didn't expect that we could rebuild
viewing patterns overnight." Freeman notes that local metered-
markets have yielded "some bright spots" for Fox. Neal Pilson,
of Pilson Communications, predicts Fox and ESPN could increase
their average ratings by 20-25% with interleague games next year
(MEDIAWEEK, 6/24 issue)....The Fox Children's Network has
acquired exclusive rights to develop a TV project using most of
Marvel Entertainment Group's comic book characters. The deal is
expected to be announced today (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/27).