CHANGES TO THE BIG SHOW? SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's
Langdon Brockinton reports that ESPN is "considering" making
changes to its daily "SportsCenter" schedule. One
consideration is possibly "moving" its early "SportsCenter"
from its 6:30-7:30pm ET slot to 6:00-7:00pm ET, which would
put it against FSN's "Fox Sports News Tonight," which
currently runs weekdays from 6:00-6:30pm ET in all time
zones. ESPN "declined comment," but sources say if it were
to make the changes, they would come in the fourth quarter
of this year (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/15 issue).
BOXED OUT: NEWSDAY's Steve Zipay writes that ESPN has
"barred" Nancy Lieberman-Cline from working the NCAA Women's
Tournament after 17 years because she is the coach/GM of the
WNBA Shock. Lieberman-Cline: "I'm disappointed." ESPN
Coordinating Producer Mo Davenport says that the move "had
absolutely nothing to do with her work." When asked why the
WNBA Liberty's Rebecca Lobo could work, Davenport said the
NCAA "has a certain opinion of pro coaches and management,
and we work with the NCAA as partners." Davenport: "We have
a high opinion of Nancy and she'll continue to be part of
our [non-tournament] coverage next year" (NEWSDAY, 3/16).
LET'S PLAY THE FEUD: MEDIAWEEK's John Consoli writes
that Fox was looking into broadcasting the America's Cup if
ESPN ended its association due to FSN's sponsorship of
racing syndicate Young America: "Fox had second thoughts
about the cost of broadcasting the competition from New
Zealand and agreed to bow out as a sponsor." One Fox exec
said that if the event was in the U.S., "it would be more
cost-justified and would be desireable. ... But the cost of
broadcast rights [about $6M], plus the high production
costs, caused us to take the high road and let Young America
out of the contract" (MEDIAWEEK, 3/15 issue).
MORE NOTES: Time Warner "is close to a decision" to
introduce a women's cable network to compete against
Lifetime TV and the Oxygen Channel (AD AGE, 3/15)....Fox
Sports News has named former MLB manager Kevin Kennedy as an
MLB analyst. Kennedy, who will make his debut this week,
joins second-year analyst Steve Sax (Fox Sports Net).