ESPN, "bowing to public pressure," pulled commercials
for androstenedione off the air, according to an AP report.
The MetRx ad ran during Tuesday's "American Muscle" show,
and was scheduled to run again on October 2, but ESPN said
it "would no longer run the commercial." ESPN spokesperson
Mike Soltys: "Given the debate in the medical and sports
community, we decided for now not to run androstenedione
ads." MetRx "defended the use of the ads, saying they have
disclaimers saying the pill should not be used by children
under 18." A MetRx spokesperson: "The controversy is
completely due to a lack of understanding and knowledge of
the product." MetRx will hold seminars for the media to
"educate people" about androstenedione. The spots are still
scheduled to run on Fox Sports Net's "Muscle Sport" and on
fitness shows on Knowledge TV. "Muscle Sport" buys time on
FSN and sells its own ads. Fox Sports Senior VP/Media
Relations Vince Wladika: "We can't reasonably withhold our
approval on a product that is legal and is certainly
applicable to the subject matter of the time buy. We will
review our policy in the future now that this has been
brought to our attention" (AP/HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/24).
