That would be "a home run," said Joe Mandese, editor of The Myers Report, an industry newsletter, given the network's travails.

According to The Myers Report, an advertising industry newsletter, Fox took in $1.247 billion in 1996 to CBS's $1.235 billion.

By contrast, prime-time television advertising sells for $17 per thousand audience members, according to The Myers Report.

Though the "most powerful name in news" theme returns, it is missing a citation appearing in the ads last fall, attributing the sobriquet to The Myers Report, a media newsletter.

In March, Myers Reports forecast a decline in ad revenue of 4 to 6.5 percent from what the broadcast networks took last spring when they sold commercials ahead of the 2000-01 season.

"Going into this marketplace, the broadcast networks were supposed to be hit with a major correction," said Joe Mandese, editor of The Myers Report, a media newsletter.

"CBS is the oldest-skewing network and its audience composition remains the least desirable," said Joe Mandese, editor of The Myers Report, a media industry newsletter.

"The end of the dot-com money will contribute to a slowdown in the next year," said Jack Myers, who analyzes advertising trends for his newsletter, The Myers Report.

The Myers Report, a media newsletter, estimated the 1999 total will be at least $1.2 billion.

That should not come as a surprise, said Joe Mandese, editor of The Myers Report, a publication of Myers Reports.