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Friday, July 28, 2000

QB challenge
draws large
TV audience

By Anthony Sommer
Kauai correspondent

LIHUE -- Organizers of the NFL Quarterback Challenge, which returned to Kauai this year after a seven-year absence, are thrilled with the ratings the two-part show received on CBS last weekend.

Football fans who tuned in viewed dozens of shots promoting the island, ranging from Kauai's hula dancers to Kauai's humpback whales.

The event, which took place in February but was not broadcast until last weekend, was seen in more than 2.2 million households on Saturday and almost 2.4 million homes on Sunday, according to figures released by the National Football League. A "household" is considered to average 3.6 people, meaning 8.6 million individuals watched Sunday's telecast.

The only other nationally televised sports event originating from Hawaii that regularly gets higher ratings is the NFL Pro Bowl, they said.

The final dramatic playoff of the Mercedes golf tournament on Maui and the final day of the Senior Skins golf tournament this year pulled slightly more viewers but not for the entire events.

The Kauai Visitors Bureau was deluged with phone calls Sunday, right after the telecast. A 30-second commercial for the Kauai Visitors Bureau was part of the contract for the show.

"It kind of put us on the map," said Sue Kanoho, bureau executive director. "And they showed all the tape of the players saying how much they love Kauai, I couldn't ask for a better endorsement."

The NFL Quarterback Challenge usually is shown in late July, just before the pro football preseason games begin. There was concern in February that it would be better to showcase the island during the winter but the NFL said football-hungry fans would be much more likely to tune in to a mid-summer contest.

Arizona's Jake Plummer won the skills competition.

Kauai has the contract for the event next year and is negotiating for a five-year contract. Organizers want to keep it on Kauai as long as the Pro Bowl remains on Oahu.