ESPN AND FOX -- U.S. RIVALS -- COMBINE OVERSEAS ON ASIA NET

          ESPN and News Corp.'s two-year-old ESPN Star Sports
     joint venture in Asia now "counts 75 million subscribers,"
     according to Steve Donohue of ELECTRONIC MEDIA, who writes
     that the two companies have "managed to forget their
     domestic differences to break the tough market together." 
     But despite the subscriber growth, ESPN Star Sports Managing
     Dir Sandy Brown said that due to the Asian economic crisis, 
     the ad market "has slumped" and many cable operators "are
     not paying their bills."  The Asian economy woes have
     "forced" ESPN and News Corp. to "adjust" their economic
     projections" on the venture, which now "expects" to be
     profitable "in about two years" (ELECTRONIC MEDIA, 12/7).