ESPN VP & Managing Editor Bob Eaton, CNN/SI Managing
Editor Steve Robinson and FSN Exec VP/Programming,
Production & News Arthur Smith discussed "SportsWatch" with
THE DAILY. In reviewing the data, Robinson said, "I figured
it would fall this way. For the month of October, it pretty
accurately measures interest level." Smith: "It's pretty
much indicative that we try to [provide] more balanced
coverage. I'm not surprised [by the numbers]. As a matter
of fact, many Octobers would look like this." Eaton added,
"I didn't find [the results] too surprising. In October,
MLB and the NFL are the two biggest things going."
DID MLB BENEFIT FROM STAR POWER? MLB traditionally
steals the show during its climactic month of October, but
it was also boosted in '99 by a compelling post-season,
which saw a Red Sox-Yankees ALCS, a classic Mets-Braves NLCS
and its two most popular teams involved in the World Series.
But network execs differed when asked if the star-studded
post-season lineup led to increased MLB coverage. CNN/SI's
Robinson: "I don't think so really, because it's still the
World Series. Our obligation is to cover the World Series
and playoffs thoroughly -- completely and comprehensively --
no matter who's in it." ESPN's Eaton: "I guess the easy
answer is yes, but I think that's hard to say, because you
need to know everything else. It could be that even if the
World Series or playoffs was less interesting than the ones
were this year, the other events could be even less
interesting." FSN's Smith: "That's really hard to predict.
It's not only how worthy this post-season is, but it's also
a question of how worthy it is versus something else."
THEY WANT THEIR NFL: Not surprisingly, the NFL received
the second most coverage on all three shows during October.
ESPN's Eaton said "people are clearly looking" for NFL news:
"It's clearly the most popular of the sports we cover. It
deserves [the] kind of coverage [it gets]." FSN's Smith, on
non-highlight driven NFL coverage: "As you build up toward
the weekend, we know that people are looking forward to it."
IS THE NHL GIVEN FAIR ICE TIME? The NHL season started
October 1, and FSN's Smith said all three networks provided
"what they feel the NHL deserves in terms of amount of
content." Smith: "But I think in the month of October, it's
not so much the NHL, everything is dominated by baseball,
and football's always huge." ESPN's Eaton: "The NHL season,
along with the NBA, along with baseball during some parts of
the season, are so long that there is a tendency sometimes
earlier in the seasons, not to spend as much time on some of
the games." But CNN/SI's Robinson said, "I think you just
have to concede that the NHL, in terms of the hierarchy of
fan interest, doesn't have it. It has a passionate
audience, but I just think in terms of the raw numbers,
you're not going to find anywhere near the level of interest
for early season hockey that you have for many of the other
sports. I just think it's a given."
THE CHANGING FACE OF NASCAR? With Fox gaining TV rights
to half of the NASCAR Winston Cup season beginning in 2001,
FSN's Smith expects "Primetime"'s NASCAR coverage to
increase. Smith: "We're starting to make our NASCAR plans
immediately." Smith noted that in "some instances" more
coverage is devoted to the properties to which Fox holds
rights. But he added, "Not in all instances. ... Your
ability to spend more time covering things sometimes may be
not just because you're a rights holder, but because you
have a bigger set-up at a certain location. Rights holder
means access, and access means sometimes better stories, and
sometimes better stories mean more time." ESPN's Eaton said
that he would be "surprised" if "Primetime"'s NASCAR
coverage didn't change as a result of the new NASCAR TV
deal. But he added that he didn't expect NASCAR coverage to
change much on "SportsCenter": "I think the only reason why
it would change would be if there were some restrictions put
by the rights holders about how much footage we could use."
HUMAN INTEREST: The sports world was shaken in October
by the tragic losses of golfer Payne Stewart and CART driver
Greg Moore and the unexpected passing of Wilt Chamberlain.
All three network execs said they have an obligation to
cover the news and inform viewers, regardless if it falls
out of the mainstream highlights-driven package. CNN/SI's
Robinson: "What you lead with in your show is a way of
telling your viewer what he or she should consider to be the
important news of the day." FSN's Smith: "If we're
advancing the story in some way, that's when we tend to lead
with it. ... Our intention is not to open each of our shows
with an obit. I would bet that if we look back on those
days [on which we led with Stewart], there was always news."
Eaton, on Stewart's death: "Was it worth leading with two
days later? That's a judgement. We make those kind of
judgements everyday. ... I think sometimes too much emphasis
is put on what we lead with and what's the second story in
the show. ... The sports fan is tuning into that show to see
the news and not just to look at the lead story and say, 'Oh
well, that's the lead story, I'm leaving.'"
ODDS & ENDS: ESPN's Eaton said he was "surprised there
wasn't more NCAA football" on "SportsCenter," but added,
"Going back and looking at the schedule in October, there
were more good games early this season"....CNN/SI's
Robinson, on why boxing coverage on "Sports Tonight" almost
tripled that of the other shows: "There's a hard core pool
of interest in boxing. Boxing is full of [out-of-the-ring]
stories -- the IBF indictment [for example] -- ... and we
take the time to tell those things. It's not just a
question of figuring out what your best highlight video is.
It's telling the stories that are the most important and the
most compelling." FSN's Smith, on next year's F-1 race at
IMS: "Next year, when the F-1 race is in America -- of which
we're going to be the host broadcaster -- it will probably
get a little more attention" (THE DAILY).
