In a move greeted with outrage from local tennis fans, KFMB Channel 8 yesterday opted not to televise the U.S. Open men's tennis final from New York.

CBS Sports televised the match live at 2 p.m. PDT, and more than 90 percent of the network's affiliates carried the broadcast. But KFMB opted to show its regularly scheduled weekday programming – “Guiding Light,” “Dr. Phil” and “Oprah” – while directing potential tennis viewers to its Web site for a live webcast.

The Union-Tribune received hundreds of phone calls protesting the decision. It's not known how many calls KFMB received. Barry Smith, KFMB director of programming, did not respond to a phone message or e-mail seeking comment.

The CBS telecast of Sunday's women's final earned a 7.0 Nielsen rating in San Diego from 6-9 p.m., meaning it was watched in about 73,500 county households.

– JAY POSNER