Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.ads From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: ads Wed, Jul 22 1992 Date: Wed, 22 Jul 92 04:31:58 EDT Message-ID: 07-22 0000 DECISIONLINE: Advertising USA TODAY Update July 22, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network FOX TOPS NBC IN RATINGS: Fox came in third in the ratings race last week, beating out NBC - a first. Fox won Wednesday and Thursday nights, and had four programs place in the top 20: The new "`Melrose Place" at No. 9; the summer premiere of "Beverly Hills, 90210" at No. 14; Thursday's "90210" rerun at No. 12; and "Married ... With Children" at No. 17. (For more, see special RATINGS package below.) BUSH ADS COMING SOON: President Bush will launch TV ads before the GOP convention next month in Houston, a strategy unheard of for an incumbent president in the past two decades. Among spots under consideration are testimonials from Barbara Bush, Ronald Reagan and actor Kevin Costner. Bush advisers hope early ads can help lure Ross Perot supporters back to the fold and dampen Bill Clinton's surge. CONVENTION HURTS NETWORKS: The Democratic National Convention was a ratings bust for the three major networks, with ratings down 17% from four years ago. Network executives now are wondering if the four-day Republican National Convention at the Houston Astrodome beginning Aug. 17 warrants as much coverage as the Democratic Convention. NBC's ratings fell 24%, ABC dropped 13% and CBS was down 12%. ADS SHOW ABORTED FETUSES: A Michigan congressional candidate began airing TV ads containing erotic images Monday to publicize his "pro-family" stance. Other ads showing aborted fetuses are planned. John Mangopoulos, 29, an Okemos businessman seeking the Republican nomination in August to face Democratic Rep. Bob Carr in November, aired the first explicit ad during newscasts on Lansing's WLNS-TV. CUTLER TAKES OVER NEW JOB: Keith Cutler has been named publisher of USA TODAY Baseball Weekly, succeeding Thomas Farrell. Cutler had been USA TODAY's director of sports and event marketing. USA TODAY Baseball Weekly, founded in April 1991, has a circulation of 280,000. Farrell gave up the titles of executive vice president and general manager of USA TODAY to become president of Gannett New Media Group. NBC SELLS VISNEWS TO REUTERS: When NBC News closed some of its foreign bureaus over the past three years, management boasted about its one-third ownership in the European news service, Visnews. NBC said Tuesday it sold its stake to Reuters, which will also buy the BBC's share, making Visnews a wholly-owned Reuters subsidiary. NBC says Visnews will still supply it with international news material. PPV EXPECTATIONS CRITICIZED: NBC pay-per-view president Jim Dolan continues to project sales of at least 3 million homes for its Olympics Triplecast, which would mean a profit approaching $85 million. But PPV industry experts disagree, saying the $125 cost is too high, people are confused about how to order it and NBC has blown up numbers of its subscriber base. BRIDE'S HAS MOST AD PAGES: Magazines' ad pages increased just 2% the first half of this year versus last year. The Publishers Information Bureau reports Bride's magazine had the most ad pages for the first half of the year with more than 1,800 pages. Business Week pulled in second with about 1,700 ad pages, followed by Forbes with 1,500 pages and The Economist with 1,400 ad pages. KOCO-TV PROMOTES SUBWAY: To generate additional revenue for Oklahoma City's KOCO-TV, the station created a promotion around the World Wrestling Foundation's Wrestlemania for Subway Restaurants. Promotional spots encouraged viewers to visit Subway locations to register for free tickets to the WWF event June 26 in Oklahoma City and to watch the "5-Alive" news show for a special on-air drawing for a grand prize. COORS COMBATS ILLITERACY: Coors has begun a campaign to combat illiteracy among U. S. women. Ten million copies of an eight-page brochure on the topic will be inserted in issues of four Hearst magazines: Cosmopolitan, Country Living, Good Housekeeping and Redbook. A print ad with a literacy theme will run in the page of 750,000 copies of Hearst Corporation romance novels. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON RATINGS: NBC BLAMES CONVENTION: Even though Fox aired national programming six days last week, its weekly average beat seven-day NBC in the Nielsen Ratings. NBC blamed low viewership on the poor showing of the Democratic convention. The best showing for political fare was ABC's coverage of Bill Clinton's acceptance speech on Thursday, ranking No. 49. CBS WINS 5TH WEEK IN A ROW: CBS won the week's ratings, its fifth in a row, with major league baseball's All-Star Game ranking No. 2 and the All-Star pre-game at No. 11. "60 Minutes" ranked No. 4 and "Murder, She Wrote" was No. 10. CBS' "Locked Up: A Mother's Rage," won the Sunday movie race, at No. 14. NBC's "Carolina Skeletons" ranked No. 21, ABC's "Crossing Delancey" was No. 28. (End of package.) Advertising Editor: Kate Coughlin. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM