SPORTS COUCH POTATO

CBS exec to run CSTV; Bedol out

In its continuing quest to attain profitability, CBS is taking day-to-day control of its college sports media subsidiary CSTV, The New York Times reported Friday.

Being tapped to run CSTV is CBS Sports executive vice president Tony Pettiti. He replaces co-founder Brian Bedol, who is exiting the company, the newspaper reported. Pettiti reports to Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports.

CBS bought CSTV in 2005 for $325 million and will now integrate its sales, marketing, public relations and Internet operations with those of CBS Sports.

“We’ve doubled our subscribers, revenue is up, but it’s still not a profitable operation, but we didn’t intend that until Year 3,” CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves told the Times' Richard Sandomir. “They’ve done a good job, and we’re happy with the acquisition. Brian knew we wanted this, and it became a question of the right time.”

Dingell: Don't mess with the Wolverines

Forget the war in Iraq, the battle to attain an immigration bill or the release of Paris Hilton from incarceration. The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee has a much more important issue on his mind and he's more than a bit concerned.

Rep. John Dingell wants assurances that live telecasts of all University of Michigan football games are going to remain available to his many constituents throughout the Wolverine State. The Michigan Democrat wants answers and has sent a letter to Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany outlining his apprehensions about the new Big Ten Network, which is set to launch in August.

Conference TV networks in vogue

Television exceutives and university officials will be watching with great interest this fall when the Big Ten Conference launches its own cable network in conjunction with Fox Sports.

While the Mountain West Conference was the first to create its own network, the Big Ten is the biggest thus far to take the plunge. And if the Big Ten enterprise is a success, don't be surprised if Fox and longtime partner the Pac-10 Conference put something in motion on the West Coast.

Meanwhile, the Southeastern Conference is actively seeking a partner for a network of its own. Commissioner Mike Slive told attendees at the SEC's spring meetings that the conference has been talking to various national networks and cable distribution companies about the idea of launching an SEC network in two to three years devoted to all or almost all league sports, Gannett News Service reported.

Slive said there would be some 8,720 hours of live sports programming available for an SEC network.