NFL: CNN/SI's Peter King reported that in its new NFL TV
deal, CBS "needs to sell its 30-second spots for an average
of about $300,000 to break even" this year. King reported it
just sold a package of four spots per game to Honda for
$125,000 per spot. King: "Bottom line -- the networks are
going to get killed financially on this deal" ("Sports
Tonight," 5/7)....Mark May will join CBS Sports as a game
analyst for the net's NFL coverage (CBS). WTGO-TV (FL)
Sports Dir Beasley Reece has also been hired by CBS as an NFL
analyst for this season (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 5/8).
NOTES: In Miami, Barry Jackson wrote, "The more I listen
to NBC's No. 1 team -- Bob Costas, Doug Collins and Isiah
Thomas -- the more I'm convinced this combination will never
truly mesh." Jackson adds that TNT "wisely dropped painfully
bland Bob Hill" and discovered "a promising studio analyst"
in Kenny Smith, "who speaks with conviction." Jackson also
reported that seeking to eliminate the five to ten instances
when TNT and TBS carry games simultaneously, the NBA is
planning to end next season on a Wednesday (rather than
Sunday) and start the playoffs on a Saturday (rather than
Thursday) (MIAMI HERALD, 5/8)....NBA.com said visits to the
Web site increased 111% during the month of April compared to
last year. The site set new traffic records on Monday, May
4, by generating 408,000 visits from 328,000 users
(NBA)....PC Magazine's Don Willmott profiles ESPN SportsZone,
calling it "remarkable," as it is "one of only a handful of
nonpornographic sites that actually get people to pay for
content" (PC MAGAZINE, 5/6 issue).
