FOX BOTS IN GOLF COVERAGE? NETWORK EYES GOLF PRESENCE

     News Corp.'s $50M investment in The Golf Channel is profiled
by Dave Shedloski of GOLFWEEK.  With the deal, Fox is "poised to
alter the rules in golf television" and although "it won't happen
overnight ... the thinking goes that Fox has big plans for golf."
One top golf exec: "When they [Fox] get involved in a sport, they
market the hell out of it."  Shedloski notes that when TV
negotiations begin next summer for PGA Tour rights starting in
'99, Fox "can say it is allied with an existing Tour partner."
The Golf Channel will also offer "another programming source" for
Fox in the U.S. and abroad.  In the U.S., Fox Sports has
"astounding potential," as Fox could put a PGA Tour event's final
two rounds on Fox, early weekend coverage on fX and continuous
early-round coverage on TGC.  GOLFWEEK's Shedloski: "The bottom
line is The Golf Channel, underfunded at its birth ... now has
the resources to become a profitable and powerful" TV player
(GOLFWEEK, 9/14 issue).