ESPN Acquires YANKEES Book Rights, Eyes CONTENDER Series

(From Sports Business Daily)

ESPN is "close to acquiring the rights for a second season of THE CONTENDER, which aired on NBC last season, according to PAUL GOGH of THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

ESPN ORIGINAL ENTERTAINMENT (EOE) Executive Producer WILL STAEGER -- "It's very possible that (the show) could be paired with a boxing dramatic series." Gough notes JOHN EISENDRATH, who created and produced EOE's PLAYMAKERS is writing a pilot of the boxing series. Another script is being developed "for a possible series about auto racing."

Gough also reports that EOE has "acquired the rights to the recent book, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE BRONX IS BURNING, written by JONATHAN MAHLER. The book is about the 1977 Yankees, who played THE DODGER in THE WORLD SERIES that year, and the "drama surrounding THE SON OF SAM KILLINGS, A BLACKOUT that was followed by ARSON and other crimes, and THE ADVENT OF DISCO. TOLLIN/ROBBINS would serve as executive producers on the project.

In NEW YORK, RICHARD SANDOMIR notes the return of THE CONTENDER was also pitched to HBO SPORTS. HBO SPORTS Senior Vice President/Programming KERY DAVIS indicated that JEFF WALD, an executive producer of the series, "proposed that it would have a PPV COMPONENT," including a projection that exceeded the boxing PPV record of 1.99 million purchases for TYSON/HOLYFIELD in 1997.

Davis -- "He suggested a figure that indicated he was out to lunch. He said we didn't do a good job with PPV and he suggested something outlandish."