ESPN and "SportsCenter" remain "the strongest sports
brand names on network" or cable TV, but Fox Sports
officials "are convinced that it is only a matter of time
before their cable alliance will challenge for supremacy,"
according to Leonard Shapiro of the WASHINGTON POST, who
examined the "competition" between Fox Sports Net (FSN),
ESPN and CNN/SI. ESPN "is way ahead" of both FSN and CNN/SI
in ratings, as July Nielsen numbers show that FSN "trailed"
ESPN in HHs during the 11:00pm ET hour by "a nearly 5-to-1
margin" and "lagged behind" CNN/SI's "Sports Tonight" by
"close to a 2-to-1 margin." However, Fox execs "insist that
when Nielsen ratings look at the full" two hours of the
10:00-12:00pm ET nightly show, the difference in HHs "is
much smaller." Pilson Communications President Neal Pilson:
"In terms of national sports news and info, ESPN will
continue to be perceived as the market leader. However, Fox
is steadily gaining ground as a supplier of news and
information." FSN's Keith Olbermann, on his former employer
ESPN: "It's the 'We have the tradition' arrogance that
eventually will drive them under. I used to hear that all
the time when I was there, and it drove me nuts. Being a
monopoly all this time, you have a sense of them being the
world's largest passenger ship that never sees the other
ship until it's too late." ESPN Exec Editor John Walsh says
the network stays competitive with it's attitude of "don't
miss anything and stay on top of everything": "I believe we
have the best reporters and the best anchors who give people
the information they want in the most entertaining way. Do
we make a mistake once in a while? Of course. What Chris
Mortensen, Peter Gammons and David Aldridge are on top of is
unbelievable. I don't see anyone out there who's equal to
any of them on covering an individual sport." Shapiro noted
that FSN's hiring of Olbermann and ESPN's Chris Myers
"clearly gave Fox a publicity boost," but ESPN officials say
that "neither man had much of an impact on ratings for
'SportsCenter.'" Still, FSN execs say that their regional
approach "ultimately will allow them to compete on equal
footing with ESPN" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/15).
