SUPER BOWL: The Super Bowl earned a final 44.5/67
rating, which helped give NBC the "largest margin" of prime-
time ratings victory in a Super Bowl week since '87, the
year Nielsen "introduced its people meters" (N.Y. DAILY
NEWS, 1/28)....The special "3rd Rock From The Sun" which
followed the game "retained 59% of its post-game show lead-
in," which is "on par" with "The X-Files" 58% retention last
year on Fox, but "no match" for the 85% retention for NBC's
"Friends" in '96. Overall, the "3rd Rock" episode scored a
19.7/34, compared to the 29.6/46 which "Friends" earned in
'96 (Lisa de Moraes, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 1/28)
MEDIAWEEK NOTE: Langdon Brockinton reports that the
French Canadian sports cable net, R seau des Sports (RDS),
signed a three-year deal to televise NBA games. RDS will
carry 16 regular season games, six playoff games and the NBA
Finals, and will also air a special on the '98 draft. Terms
were not disclosed....Brockinton also reports that Sports
Illustrated and the Toronto Globe & Mail signed a one-year
licensing deal, giving the paper the right to run SI pieces
in its sports section....Reebok's Dir of Interactive
Marketing Marvin Chow is profiled by Bernhard Warner. Chow,
on online advertising, of which Reebok does none: "I'm not
averse to buying online advertising ... (But) people do get
immune to brand campaigns online, especially when it's part
of a banner" (MEDIAWEEK, 1/26 issue).
ESPN NOTES: Selected ESPN SportsZone subscribers are
being chosen to "preview" new TV ads for its SportsZone
service on the Web site, according to Beth Snyder of AD AGE.
So far, 8,000 users have been sent e-mails giving a "secret
location to view the spots" (AD AGE, 1/26)....Some MSOs are
wary of a "rate hike coming from ESPN" in the wake of its
NFL TV deal. MediaOne Senior VP/Programming Jedd Palmer
said that any rate increases "could force the operators to
revisit their tiering strategies, creating sports-free
packages for customers" (ELECTRONIC MEDIA, 1/26 issue).
