Ratings rise for CBS thanks to Patriots' run

By Dusty Saunders, Special to the Rocky

Published December 17, 2007 at 12:45 a.m.

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I can envision scenes next fall in a new restaurant, located in Foxborough, Mass., adjacent to the New England Patriots' stadium.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick, nattily attired in his trademark sweat shirt and sporting his patented grimace, is operating as the restaurant's maitre d' while welcoming diners.

And quarterback Tom Brady and Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports, will show up as part-time waiters.

This projected scenario follows the recent announcement that New England and CBS are creating the network's first CBS Sports restaurant - a 15,000-square-foot space called CBS Scene.

Noted CBS president Les Moonves: "There is no greater franchise now in the NFL than the New England Patriots."

Returning a back-slapping tribute, Patriots owner Bob Kraft said, "When it comes to entertainment and sports programming, CBS is the premier brand."

So how did this exclusive dining bond evolve?

Look no further than the powerful Sunday audience ratings the AFC Patriots have provided CBS, allowing the network the opportunity to beat Fox in the seasonlong Sunday afternoon audience battle.

Fox, which has the NFC franchise in huge metropolitan areas such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco and Washington D.C., has won in total audience figures since CBS joined the fray for the 1998 season.

However, the Patriots have done wonders for CBS on the Nielsen ratings chart all season.

The latest example: The Dec. 9 doubleheader, highlighted by the Patriots-Steelers clash, was the most-watched TV attraction of the week (30.3 million viewers), beating all prime-time network programming.

Maybe other AFC franchises will demand equal time from CBS in the restaurant business.

At least one franchise, the Miami Dolphins, no longer winless, could team with CBS on an outlet featuring fresh fish.

But when it comes to linking restaurant food specialties with a team nickname, Denver and CBS would have to go in a different direction.

I doubt if loyal Broncos fans would appreciate a menu highlighted by a horse.

MORE PATRIOTS POWER: The Dec. 3 New England-Baltimore game, aired on ESPN's Monday Night Football, had the largest audience in cable history, with an average of 17.5 million viewers. The final quarter drew 23.9 million.

LOCAL SCENE: While final Niel- sen ratings haven't been released, it's obvious that KWGN-Channel 2's simulcast of Thursday night's Denver-Houston game on the NFL Network was the most-watched attraction in the station's history.

Channel 2, Denver's first TV outlet (July 1952), never has been aligned with a major network that could provide blockbuster sports or entertainment programming.

The station recorded above-average audience ratings in 1993 during the first several games of the Colorado Rockies' initial season.

Unfortunately, Channel 2's local Broncos coverage was marred by severe audio production problems during postgame reports from Houston.

Early on in an interview, stadium music hampered Marc Soi- cher's good session with former Broncos lineman Dan Neil.

Another quick sideline interview with Kyle Shanahan was unintelligible, as was an early feed of Mike Shanahan's postgame news conference.

TACKY COVERAGE: Several Internet sites and two TV stations suffered severe cases of "scoop mentality" Thursday before the release of the Mitchell Report naming baseball players in the steroids scandal.

WNBC-TV in New York broadcast the names of several players not on the list, including Cardinals star Albert Pujols and the deceased Darryl Kile, who pitched for the Cardinals and Rockies.

The Fox TV affiliate in St Louis also picked up the erroneous reports naming Pujols, Kile and several other prominent players.

LOOKING BACK: Spotlight, an FSN Rocky Mountain magazine show (7 p.m. Tuesday), focuses on the major local sports happenings of 2007.

Leading stories include the run of the Colorado Rockies into the World Series and the shooting death of Broncos defensive back Darrent Williams.

Hosted by Drew Goodman, the half-hour has several airings following Tuesday's premiere.

QUOTABLE: "If they (the baseball players union) had nuclear weapons, they'd rule the world." - ESPN host Bob Ley, during the network's six-hour coverage Thursday of the Mitchell steroids report.

Dusty Saunders writes periodically about sports broadcasting. Contact him at tvtime@Comcast.net.

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