Friday, March 12, 1999
SPORTS ON TV-RADIO
CBS has timing down to deliver great finishes
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Terry Ewert, the executive producer of CBS Sports, says being in Studio 43 in New York during the first two days of the NCAA Tournament is a little like being in an air traffic control tower.
You have a lot of games flying through the air, but you can only land one in each market at any one time.
“There's nothing more com plex in sports,” he said. “It's 12 hours each day, and it's relentless.”
The trick in the studio is when to give up on a blowout and go to a good finish.
That sounds simple. But it's complicated by the fact that you have “constant” audiences and “flux” audiences.
Cincinnati will be a constant audience for the UC, Miami and Kentucky games today. CBS won't switch away because of the local ties.
Thursday was a flux day — no local ties — until the Ohio State game.
The way the tourney is set up helps CBS deliver the end of most close games to big audiences.
“With all the staggered tip times, it lends itself to that,” Ewert said. “You can have fan tastic finishes in sequence.”
The trick is when to switch.
“It's an educated guess,” Ewert said. “You watch the games and try to get a feel for it.”
Ewert, programming head Mike Aresco and studio producer Eric Mann make the calls.
“It's a collaborative process,” Aresco said. “The first two days, things move fast.”
CBS has a policy against using the split screen, which is a good one. Splitting the screen often means you can barely follow either game.
RANTS & RAVES: So, fans at home, how did CBS do? Give me a call with your rants and raves about CBS' NCAA Tournament coverage. Feel free to rant or rave about radio coverage, or the reports on local TV. Call 768-8445 and leave a voice mail. As always keep it short, leave your name and where you live. I'll run the best of them in Monday's column.
KEVIN & KEITH: After playing revolving anchors since hiring Keith Olbermann in January, Fox Sports Net, has decided to perma nently pair Olbermann with former Channel 19 anchor Kevin Frazier.
They will do the 11 p.m. to midnight gig.
Frazier has held his own alongside Olbermann, one of the best talents in sports TV.
OOPS: Byron Larkin called Toledo guard Chad Kamstra “Garry” while reading the lineup for the Xavier-Toledo game. Garry, a former UC player, is Chad's father.
BOXING BARGAIN: One of the few heavyweight fights worth paying for — Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis — will cost you $49.95 to watch on pay-per-view Saturday.
Jim Lampley will call the action, with Larry Merchant and George Foreman serving as analysts.
BOXING II: Cincinnati's Tim Austin (18-0-1) has a Showtime fight set for March 27. Austin, the IBF bantamweight champion, is scheduled to fight Sergio Aguila.
John Fay covers TV/radio for The Enquirer. He can be reached at 768-8445.
MARCH MADNESS PAGE
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