When you're kicked back in your easy chair this summer watching Wimbledon on TNT, think of Old Dominion alumnus Bruce Kirton.

Same thing with NASCAR races beginning a year from now on Ted Turner's TBS Superstation - and the NBA and professional wrestling on Turner Broadcasting System Inc. networks.

As a member of the strategic planning division at Turner Sports, Kirton is responsible for conducting feasibility studies on broadcast rights acquisitions by the multimillion-dollar broadcasting empire.

For example, when TNT began thinking seriously about purchasing the rights to Wimbledon's early rounds, officials looked to Kirton.

"How do you justify it?" Kirton said. "There are reasons why you'd buy the rights. It gives you an image. It helps you in selling ads - it's like a marketing expense for the network. It brings in other advertisers that might not advertise (otherwise) with the network."

Turner's acquisition of the Wimbledon tournament was motivated by all those reasons, Kirton said. With broadcasting magnate Ted Turner's TBS flagship station going with more male-oriented programming like NASCAR and World Championship Wrestling, professional tennis was a perfect fit with TNT and its "higher-brow" mission.

As a result, TNT and CNN/Sports Illustrated will televise 89 hours of coverage of the 2000 Wimbledon tournament, marking the first time the prestigious tennis event will be available on basic cable.

TNT will air 61 hours of primarily daytime coverage and program an additional 28 hours on CNN/Sports Illustrated, all in prime time.

Kirton also worked on the company's acquisition with NBC for rights to 20 NASCAR auto races in the second half of the 2001 season. The NASCAR deal was an important one for Turner because "it's one of the few sports that has increasing ratings," Kirton explained. He also worked on a contract for Turner's ill-fated bid to start an alternative football league.

Kirton has been employed by Turner since 1995. For his first two years, he mainly worked with the entertainment programming division, including Turner Classic Movies and The Cartoon Network. He's been in his current position for 2 1/2 years and now works in both entertainment and sports.

After obtaining his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering technology in 1984, Kirton worked for five years as an engineer at Goodyear Aerospace at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station and Norfolk Southern Railroad.

He then headed for the West Coast, earned his M.B.A. from Cal-Berkeley in 1991 and worked four years with Exxon USA in Houston as a financial analyst.

Kirton and his wife, Wonya, have two daughters, Alexis and Sydney, ages 7 and 3.

- James J. Lidington