More Wide Receivers Needed

It’s not just John Madden with his new $8-million annual paycheck to broadcast football games who is benefiting from the National Football League’s decision to shift its NFC games to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox network.

The move also has triggered an unexpected surge in demand for newer and bigger television antennas.

The reason is that most Fox affiliates remain on weaker UHF stations rather than VHF ones.

So football fans who don’t have cable, and who live in areas where where the UHF signal is weak, are being pitched new antennas in a big way.

The move to Fox even prompted electronics retailer Radio Shack to launch a campaign directed at football fans that asks “Is your NFL on UHF?”

Said Rick Borinstein, vice president of merchandise marketing: “We wanted to have some fun with this.”

Fun, Fun, Fun in Court

A rare live “performance” by Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson took place in Downtown Los Angeles on Thursday. Only a handful of people where there, even though it was free.

The reason is that Wilson, who has rarely performed live during the past 30 years, was a witness testifying in U.S. District Court during a pretrial hearing involving a lawsuit filed against him by Mike Love, his cousin and fellow Beach Boy. Love is seeking royalties and credit for songs he says he helped write.

During questioning over the writing of the song “Good Vibrations,” Wilson asked U.S. District Judge William J. Rea: “Is it appropriate in this situation to hum a melody to get a point across?”

Rea gave his consent.

Then, according to a court transcript: “witness sang melody.”

A Banner Day for NBC

NBC’s 40-foot scaffolding tower erected in Downtown Los Angeles for use in its O.J. Simpson trial coverage has attracted a lot of attention from passersby, not all of it the kind the network welcomes.

On Friday, a banner appeared briefly on the tower reading: “No Contract, No Viewers.”

Turns out the message is courtesy of the National Assn. of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, whose members are working without a contract.

Protesting members of the union also have been visible lately through the new street-level window behind NBC’s “Today Show” set.

Briefly. . .

The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino promises it will use “only nontoxic, biodegradable cleaning products in its rooms, casino, restaurant and laundry facilities.” . . . A Geritol-sponsored survey found that three out of four people answered “Bob Barker is the TV game show host most likely to take Geritol.” . . . Weirdest investment of the week: A subsidiary of media giant Capital Cities/ABC has become the largest minority shareholder in a fresh flower distributor. . . . The Learning Annex is offering a course in November on becoming an independent contractor titled “Fire Your Boss.”