Interest Rate Is Falling in L.A. for NFL

Ratings for the NFL’s regular season just came out, with CBS and Fox showing 2% increases over last season and ABC showing a decrease of 1%.

But in Los Angeles, it’s a different story. NFL ratings were off considerably for a fourth consecutive year.

CBS nationally went from an average of 10.3 in 1998 to a 10.5 in ‘99, but in L.A. went from a 9.2 to an 8.6.

Fox nationally went from a 10.8 to an 11.0, but slipped from a 10.0 to a 9.1 in L.A.

ABC’s “Monday Night Football” nationally got a 13.9 in ’98 and a 13.7 this season, but the decrease was bigger in L.A. Despite switching back to a 6 p.m. kickoff, ABC slipped from a 14.9 to a 14.2.

ESPN ratings in L.A. were flat, holding at a 6.0 for the second year in a row.

What all this means is some Los Angeles fans, without a team to root for, appear to be losing interest in the NFL.

NFL PLAYOFFS

The NFL playoffs begin this weekend, and figuring out which game is being carried by which network isn’t easy. To simplify, keep in mind ABC has both Saturday games, and CBS and Fox share the Sunday games.

Steve Young makes his debut as a studio analyst for ABC on Saturday. He’ll also be a part of the Super Bowl coverage on Jan. 30.

Keyshawn Johnson will be in studio Sunday for Fox Sports Net’s “NFL This Morning” at 7:30 and will also join James Brown, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Cris Collinsworth on the main Fox network at 8:30.

UCLA BLACKOUT

UCLA’s game Thursday night at Washington was not televised, and Saturday’s game at Washington State won’t be either.

The reason Thursday night’s game was not televised was because Fox Sports Net had a King game and Fox Sports Net 2 had a Pacific 10 game, Arizona State at Stanford. Saturday’s 3 p.m. game is not televised because Fox Sports Net has a Pac-10 biggie, No. 5 Arizona at No. 1 Stanford, at 3 p.m.

UCLA tried to get Washington State to change the game time to 1 p.m., but the school declined and suggested a Sunday night game. UCLA declined that offer because classes resume Monday.

USC plays at Washington on Saturday at 1 p.m., and that game will be televised by Fox Sports Net 2.

NEW NEWS SHOW

Fox Sports Net will launch an 11 p.m., half-hour regional newscast on its 22 regional sports networks in June. The plan originally was to launch the regional newscast Jan. 17 and move Jim Rome’s “The Last Word” from midnight to 11:30 p.m.

But when the date for the launch of the regional news show got pushed back, Fox Sports Net decided to still move Rome to 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 17 and air a new series of “Toughman” shows at 11 p.m. from Jan. 17 through March 27. After that, there will be a new game show, “Sports Geniuses,” in the 11 p.m. slot until the regional news show is ready.

“By virtue of being the ‘home for home teams,’ regional news is such a natural for us,” said Arthur Smith, Fox Sports Net executive vice president.

One can argue that “Press Box,” the predecessor of “Fox Sports News,” was also a regional news show, but Smith says it’s the resources Fox Sports Net now has that will make the new show a success.

“We do more than 4,000 locally produced events,” Smith said.

NFL SOFTIES

ESPN’s Andrea Kremer, in her travels to various NFL camps and games, is seeing another side of NFL players. Kremer, 40, and her husband John Steinberg, who teaches archeology at UCLA, are expecting their first child, a boy, in late February.

She said she has been greeted with warmth by everyone.

“It’s amazing,” she said. “When you’re pregnant, everyone wants to put their hands on your stomach. When I was at the Vikings’ camp last week [to interview Cris Carter], Chris Doleman was giving me advice on what I should eat to avoid a colicky baby and John Randle wanted to be my nanny.”

Kremer, who said she has never even changed a diaper, on why she is having a baby at this point in her life, said, “You know, there comes a time when you ask yourself, ‘Is your whole reason for being to see how many Super Bowls you can cover, how many stories you can break, and how many interviews you can do first?’ ”

SHORT WAVES

Throw Mike Ditka’s name in the hat among the candidates to join Al Michaels and Boomer Esiason in the “Monday Night Football” booth. ABC figures to add a third member since its rating decreased. Ditka might also end up on CBS’ pregame show. . . . Time Warner Communications angered many of its customers recently when it took off the Golf Channel and replaced it with CourtTV. Sounds as if it may be time for Warner subscribers to look into getting a dish. . . . Michele Tafoya, who has been with CBS the last five years, has joined ESPN. She’ll do a variety of roles, including men’s and women’s basketball play by play. She’ll also continue working WNBA games for Lifetime. . . . Andre Aldridge, a USC graduate who worked for KMPC in the early ‘90s and for ESPN the last four years, is now at CNN/Sports Illustrated.

The Sugar Bowl got a 17.5 national rating, a 2% increase over the 17.2 for last year’s national championship game, the Fiesta Bowl. The L.A. rating for the Sugar Bowl was only a 14.0, which pales in comparison to the 20.5 the Rose Bowl got here. . . . George Raveling, the commentator on Fox Sports Net’s Arizona-Stanford basketball game Saturday, said, “Stanford’s accomplishments are particularly amazing because Mark Madsen has been out.” Raveling says no team is as deep in talent as Stanford.

ESPN2 kicks off a new boxing series tonight at 7:30, and Showtime has an attractive matchup--Jorge Julio against Johnny Tapia at Albuquerque--Saturday at 10 p.m., delayed. . . . On Jan. 29, Showtime will televise the Mike Tyson-Julius Francis fight from Manchester, England. . . . Ready for college bowling? The Nashville Network (TNN) launches a college bowling series Tuesday at 8 p.m., when Cal State Fullerton takes on Western Illinois.

IN CLOSING

The guys at KXTA (1150) may not always show a lot of class, but they are actually doing something nice Monday. The station will put on an all-day, 5 a.m.-to-6 p.m. “radiothon” at Staples Center to raise money for the Leukemia Society of America.

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What Los Angeles Is Watching

A sampling of L.A. Nielsen ratings for Jan. 1-4.

SATURDAY

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Over-the-air Channel Rating Share Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Stanford 7 20.5 40 Orange Bowl: Michigan vs. Alabama 7 11.5 20 Citrus Bowl: Michigan State vs. Florida 7 8.7 17 Gator Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Miami 4 2.8 5 Golf: Williams World Challenge 4 2.4 5 Skiing: U.S. Freestyle Grand National 2 1.8 4

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Cable Network Rating Share Outback Bowl: Purdue vs. Georgia ESPN 1.2 3 America’s Cup: Challenger semifinals, Race One ESPN2 0.3 0

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SUNDAY

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Over-the-air Channel Rating Share Pro football: Oakland at Kansas City 2 14.8 34 Pro football: Miami at Washington 2 10.7 27 Fiesta Bowl: Nebraska vs. Tennessee 7 9.0 15 Pro football: New York Giants at Dallas 11 5.5 12 Golf: Williams World Challenge 4 3.5 8

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Cable Network Rating Share Tennis: Chris Evert Pro Celebrity Classic ESPN 0.4 1 College basketball: Women, Louisiana Tech-UConn ESPN 0.1 0 College basketball: Women, Colorado-Stanford FSN 0.0 0 America’s Cup: Challenger semifinals, Race Two ESPN2 0.0 0

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WEEKDAY RATINGS: MONDAY--Pro football, San Francisco-Atlanta, Channel 7, 13.4/20. TUESDAY--Sugar Bowl, Florida State-Virginia Tech, Channel 7, 14.0/27; Pro basketball, Lakers-Clippers, Channel 9, 4.4/6.

Note: Each rating point represents 51,350 L.A. households. Cable ratings reflect the entire market, even though cable is in only 63% of L.A. households.