Fox wants to broadcast the entire Stanley Cup Finals
beginning in '99, "but ESPN has no plans to give up hockey's
crown jewel," according to Mike Reynolds of CABLE WORLD.
Both networks' NHL contracts expire at the end of next
year's playoffs, but Fox holds a two-year option which
"gives it the rights to show the entire Stanley Cup finals,
starting in 2000," and sources indicate that "discussions
have been held" to move that timetable forward. While ESPN
"wants to retain" the status quo through '99, sources say
that talks have "centered on giving ESPN a reason to
relinquish its" Cup rights. One exec said the NHL "is
talking" with ESPN "about some incentive, but I don't think
it would be a rebate. It may be a case where the new
contract extension that is being discussed with ESPN would
be for a less amount of money over" time. ESPN's current
NHL deal "is said to average" between $11M-13M per year.
Sources tell Reynolds that Fox would receive a 5% reduction
in rights fees if it exercises its contract option, while
others contend that the option years would "come at an
increase" of about 20% annually (CABLE WORLD, 6/8 issue).
CBC RATINGS: CBC's coverage of Game One of the Stanley
Cup Finals on Tuesday drew an audience of 1.4 million, a 30%
drop from '97, when two million viewers watched. CBC Sports
President Alan Clark said the long season has had an effect
on ratings: "Were it tightened up, it would clearly make a
difference" (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/12)....In N.Y., Richard
Sandomir compares Fox and CBC's Game One broadcast, writing
that the "easiest measure" of the differences between the
coverage is to calculate "how much time is spent covering
the game from the high, center ice camera, which provides a
safe, standard view of the game." In Tuesday's first
period, Fox used that angle 50 times for 14:25, while CBC
used it 42 times, but for 18:12. CBC once held the shot for
1:40, while Fox never stayed with it for more than :48. In
addition, Sandomir found that Fox cut to robotic cameras 40
times for 5:12 during the period, while CBC went to them 23
times for 1:19 (N.Y. TIMES, 6/12)...In Detroit, Joe Falls
writes that last night's 5-4 Red Wings OT win was full of
"raw excitement." Falls adds that it was "the kind of game
that could turn on the entire country" and that it "came at
exactly the right time," noting SI's "Is Anyone Watching?"
article on the NHL, which came out Wednesday (DETROIT NEWS,
6/12). Also in Detroit, Terry Foster writes under the
header, "Game 2 Shows NHL At Its Best" (DETROIT NEWS, 6/12).
