BUSINESS WEEK reports of possible suitors for CBS, and
Tom Graves of Standard & Poor's "isn't sure a deal is
imminent," but notes that CBS "is a 'logical' candidate for
either USA Networks ... or Viacom" (BUSINESS WEEK, 8/17
issue). A Viacom spokesperson dismissed the report: "Viacom
is not interested in buying CBS" (N.Y. POST, 8/8)....ESPN
said its Women's Pro Billiard Association telecasts
"consistently draw more than 740,000 viewers, regardless of
what time they are aired or what sports they are up
against." ESPN Communications Coordinator Josh Krulewitz:
"The audience is so loyal that we use it a lot for
counterprogramming, up against the NCAA tournament, or
college football" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/8)....In S.F., Bruce
Jenkins called the U.S. women's soccer team "[a]bsolutely
the best, purest, most endearing group of athletes in
America today," and wrote networks "should be honored to
televise their performances." Jenkins wrote that TNT "made
an awful mess" during the Goodwill Games, cutting away from
the championship game to show diving (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/8).