The Baltimore Sun du lieu suivant : Baltimore, Maryland • Page 72

Pagel2E Friday, September 4, 1998 The Sun NFL '98 Network hookups The network announcing teams that will call NFL games this season: CBS mood positively 'electric' after reconnecting with NFL ESPN primed to pump football v. Play-by-play Analyst(s) Sideline reporter ABC: Monday night games Al Michaels Dan Dierdorf, Lesley Visser Boomer Esiason CBS: AFC games GregGumbel Phil Simms Armen Keteyian Verne Lundquist Randy Cross Michele Tafoya Gus Johnson Steve Tasker Kevin Harlan SamWyche IanEagle MarkMay Don Criqul BeasleyReece ESPN: Sunday night games Mike Patrick JoeTheismann, Solomon Wilcots PaulMaguire taNFCgamcs Pat Summerall John Madden Dick Stockton MattMillen Tim Ryan Ronnie Lott, Bill Maas Sam Rosen Jerry Glanville RayBentley Ron Pitts Disney dollars provide prime-time monopoly for cable giant, partner ABC By Milton Kent SUN SPORTS MEDIA CRITIC or Thorn Brennaman Kenny Albert Curt Menafee Tim Green Brian Baldinger Many of CBS' former NFL on-air and behind-the-scenes talent including announcers Pat Sum-merall, John Madden and Dick Stockton, producer Robert Sten-ner and director Sandy Grossman went to Fox and are staying. But a good number of people like Gumbel, Wolff, Cavolina and announcers Verne Lundquist, Randy Cross and Don Criqui came back to CBS and are the core of the new effort, along with relative newcomers like announcers Gus Johnson and Kevin Harlan, analyst Steve Tasker and reporters Armen Keteyian and Bonnie Bernstein. Beyond a new package of 3-D graphics, the network promises not to try to reinvent the wheel in its production. After all, football is football, and Fox has pretty much defined the state of football production with sharper, clearer sound than had ever been heard before and a constant on-screen score and clock.

Where CBS can make its mark is with the revival of "The NFL Today," once the industry standard. Host Nantz, one of the few major talents not to leave the network, said he grew up watching the show as a kid in the 1970s. Nantz will be flanked by a trio of For a supposedly conservative company, Disney certainly knowSk how to upset the apple cart. Not merely content to retaia. the rights to "Monday Night Foot ball" for ABC, Disney Chairma' Michael Eisner whipped out th' corporate checkbook and seized the entire Sunday night cabl.

package for ESPN, giving his pany the exclusive franchise oil, prime-time football. So, for the first time in years, since the NFL established Intercepting AFC games caps network's comeback from rights turnover in '94 By Milton Kent SUN SPORTS MEDIA CRITIC Larry Cavolina and Mark Wolff heard the news that CBS had regained the rights to telecast the NFL just as everyone else did last winter. But it wasn't until Wolff, the lead producer on CBS' telecasts, and Cavolina, the director, walked through the New York Giants' training camp in Albany, N.Y., with former Giants quarterback Phil Simms last month that the concept became reality. CBS would be doing football again. "We're walking on the field and Larry says to me, 'Man, isn't it great to be doing football Wolff said.

"We stopped and we looked around and we thought, 'Yeah, we're really doing When studio anchor Jim Nantz opens CBS' "The NFL Today" game show Sunday, he'll preside over the completion of perhaps the most amazing comeback in sports broadcasting history the television equivalent of John El-way leading the Denver Broncos to victory from a two-touchdown deficit in the final two minutes. With a $500 million annual commitment for the rights to carry AFC games for at least the next five years and one Super Bowl during that span, CBS mounted a successful two-minute drive. "The energy that this place now has is tremendous," Wolff said. "You walk around here and you can tell. Everybody's champing at the bit to get it done.

It's been a major undertaking, but once we get the ball rolling, we're going to get it done. It's electric." After CBS lost NFC rights to Fox in 1994, the network's sports division went into a free fall, with few marquee events beyond college football and basketball, the PGA Tour and the U.S. Open tennis tournament. CBS had been the NFL's network of record for almost 50 years, carrying its first televised game in 1946 and a regular-season package for 38 straight years, but when Fox offered $100 million more a for rights, all that history went right out the window. "CBS always did an extremely professional job.

The reason that CBS lost football in the first place had nothing to do how they treated the game," said Greg Gumbel, the lead play-by-play voice this fall and a former host of "The NFL Today." "The NFL left because there full season Sunday night telecast window, all the games will be in one place, rather than split between TNT and ESPN. For ESPN producers and announc ers, the five- Magulre Nantz Gumbel was $100 million a year on the table. You know, there's nothing wrong with doing it for the money. We all do what we do for the money and if they had left $100 million a year on the table, we all would have said, 'What? Are you As a result, most of CBS Sports' big-name announcers and its prime production talent left the network, and the loss of football, directly or indirectly, depending on whom you talk to, led to the departure of two division presidents. But behind Sean McManus, who took over the helm of CBS Sports in November 1996, the sports division began a slow but steady comeback, culminating with the wresting away of AFC rights from NBC.

Nationally games Regular season Sunday, Sept. 6 Oakland al Kansas City, p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Sept. 7 New England al Denver, 8:20 p.m. (ABC) Sunday, Sept Indianapolis at New 13 England, p.m.

(ESPN) Monday, Sept. 14 San Francisco at Washington, 6:20 p.m. (ABC) Sunday, Sept. 20 Philadelphia at Arizona, 8:20 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Sept.

21 Dallas at New York Giants, I :20 p.m. (ABC) Sunday, Sept. 27 Cincinnati at Ravem, 8:20 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Sept. 28 Tampa Bay at Detroit, 8:20 p.m.

(ABC) Sunday, Oct. i Seattle at Kansas City, 8:20 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Oct. 5 Minnesota at Green Bay, 8:20 p.m. (ABC) Sunday, Oct 11 Atlanta at New York Giants, 8:20 p.m.

(ESPN) Monday, Oct. 12 Miami at Jacksonville, 8:20 p.m. (ABC) Thursday, Oct 15 Green Bay at Detroit, 8:20 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Oct. 19 New York Jets at New England, 8:20 p.m.

(ABC) Sunday. Oct. 25 Buffalo at Carolina, 8:20 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Oct. 26 Pittsburgh at Kansas City, 8:20 p.m.

(ABC) ly XCi year deal gives them a chance td( further establish their brandonj-the telecast. i "At least every night of week, we have NFL programming; and I think a lot of that was spun by the fact that we have the fult' season," said senior NFL coordi-j'( nating producer Fred GaudellU "We're going to take advantage! and really try to become the unof ficial NFL network." That strategy has more than a programming component at; tached. In knocking Turner out op. the box, ESPN bid a whopping! $600 million a year for the Sundajjj! night cable schedule, $50 million ar year more than either ABC or bid for their over-the-air pack' ages, and $100 million more annu', ally than CBS. All the broadcast schedules will; have significantly larger audiences than ESPN's, which would appear New blood: Former Maryland and NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason Dan Dierdorf in the "Monday Night Football" booth this year, replacing analysts ex-San Francisco 49ers coach George Seifert, former 49ers tight end Brent Jones and just-retired Kansas City Chiefs running back Marcus Allen none of whom has any network broadcast experience.

"The toughest thing for anybody I don't care who it is is getting a rhythm with three guys who have never been in that environment," said Fox executive producer Ed Goren, who hired Nantz at CBS in 1985. Nantz, who drew considerable Monday, Nov. 16 Denver al Kansas City, 8:20 p.m. (ABC) Sunday, Nov. 22 New Orleans at San Francisco, 8:20 p.m.

(ESPN) Monday, Nov. 23 Miami at New England, 8:20 p.m. (ABC) Thursday, Nov. 26 Minnesota al Dallas. p.m.

(Fox) Pittsburgh at Detroit. 12:36 p.m. (CBS) Sunday, Nov. 29 Denver at San Diego, 8:20 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Nov.

30 New York Giants at San Francisco, 8:20 p.m. (ABC) Thursday, Dec. 3 St. Louis at Philadelphia, 8:20 p.m. (ESPN) Sunday, Dec.

6 Chicago at Minnesota, 8:20 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Dec. 7 Green Bay at Tampa Bay, 8:20 p.m. (ABC) Sunday, Dec. 13 New York Jets al Miami, 8:20 p.m.

(ESPN) Monday, Dec. 14 Detroit al San Francisco. 8:20 p.m. (ABC) Saturday, Dec. 19 New York Jets at Buffalo, 12:35 p.m.

(CBS) Tampa Bay at Washington, 4:05 p.m. (Fox) UWtK IfVtt m.iiftiiii aim mi a it) z4 Sunday, Nov. 1 Oakland at Seattle, 8:20 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Nov. 2 Dallas at Philadelphia, 8:20 p.m.

(ABC) Sunday, Nov. 8 Tennessee at Tampa Bay, 8:20 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Nov. 9 Green Bay al Pittsburgh, 8:20 p.m. (ABC) Sunday, Nov.

15 Chicago al Detroit, 8:20 p.m. (ESPN) media fire for his role as host of CBS' Winter Olympics coverage this year, said he's not worried about brickbats he may face. "I know it's going" to be scrutinized. I know people are going to pick it apart," Nantz said. "But I'm a big boy.

I realize that the media have a job to do. I respect that people have the right to an opinion. I'm not afraid of that. I expect it." After four years away from the action, even the criticism may feel good. (right) joins Al Michaels (left) and longtime analyst Frank Gifford.

Sunday, Dec. 20 Jacksonville at Minnesota, 8:20 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Dec. 21 Denver at Miami, 8:20 p.m. (ABC) Saturday, Dec.

26 Minnesota at Tennessee. 12:35 p.m. (Fox) Kansas City at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. (CBS) Sunday, Dec. 27 Washington at Dallas, 8:20 p.m.

(ESPN) Monday, Dec. 28 Pittsburgh at Jacksonville, 8:20 p.m. (ABC) Playoffs Saturday, Jan. 2 AfC-NFC wild-card games (ABC) Sunday, Jan. 3 AFC NFC wild card games (CBS, Fox) Saturday, Jan.

9 AFC-NFC divisional games (CBS, Fox) Sunday, Jan. 10 AFC-NFC divisional games (CBS, Fox) Sunday, Jan. 17 AFC-NFC championship Games (CBS, Fox) Sunday, Jan. 31 Super Bowl at Miami (Fox) A custom-made lucite paperweight, embedded with your commemorative ticket from the first regular-season game at the new stadium at Camden Yards, can be yours today! Just send us the ticket after the September 6th game, and we'll have it suspended lucite paperweight. Call 800-729-2321 for more information.

Manufactured for SunSource by The Treasured Collection. Section "1 Ve 're going to take ad j. vantage and really try to; become the unofficial NFL network." to make the cable giant's bidaJ piece of financial folly and place tn-? ordinate pressure on all who wqrk on the NFL to make it work. "It's terribly important to? ESPN, to ABC and to Disney tht we be successful and get high rat- ings and make money and all thiti kind of stuff," said play-by-play an-i nouncer Mike Patrick. "TheyV ESPN executives don't try to ex- ert pressure on us.

You want to the best possible job you can do. Nobody's standing over youit shoulder, saying, 'You've got to dot it this way." That's why they hired us in the first place. And ESPN, unlike the net works, has a dual revenue stream- to help recoup its fee. The cablej outlet makes money on commer- cials it airs, and has created morei NFL programming, from a nightly news show on ESPN2 to an extraj half-hour of its Sunday morningv pre-game show, to get more ads and revenue in. ESPN also receives subscriber? fees from cable operators, and thet theory that the more popular the' programming it offers, the more it can charge the cable system, should work well as NFL games are the most popular program- ming on cable.

Not surprisingly, ESPN is charging its subscribers more as much as 20 percent more ac- cording to some reports and. those costs inevitably will finds their way into cable bills. To help attract a larger audi- ence, ESPN's other big change in- volves the addition of a third man to its booth, former NBC analyst, Paul Maguire, to join Patrick and analyst Joe Theismann. Maguire, a solid analyst with a wry sense of humor, is being added to bring a bit of levity to a football- i heavy booth, Gaudelli said. "There's no way we'll ever neg- lect football.

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