ESPN's coverage of the Stars-Sabres Stanley Cup Finals
Game Three earned a 12.9 Nielsen cable rating on Saturday in
the Dallas-Ft. Worth-area, meaning the game was seen in an
average of 252,800 homes. In Dallas, Michael Saul writes
that the "big problem" is that cable penetration in the
Dallas market hits "only" 52% of homes, "the smallest
percentage of any major market in the country" (DALLAS
MORNING NEWS, 6/15). NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, on the
lack of large-market teams in the Stanley Cup Finals: "You
take it as it comes. But clearly, if your big markets are
playing longer, your ratings tend to be higher. That's just
the facts of television life." Pilson Communications
President Neil Pilson said that while he doesn't see any
"ratings breakthroughs for the NHL," the league "does get
consistent numbers, but I think they're way too defensive
about their television ratings" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 6/15).
MORE RATINGS: The Yankees-Phillies June 9th game earned
a 5.6/9 rating, making it Comcast SportsNet's highest-rated
Phillies telecast ever. The 5.6 was also the highest
Phillies cable rating in over three years (Comcast
SportsNet)....The French Open Women's Final drew 4.31
million viewers and a 43.2% market share on France's TV
station France 2. On BBC 2, the final had a 1.8 million
viewer average, with a peak of 2.7 million viewers. German
carrier ZDF set a record with an average 5.38 million
viewers and a 39.5% market share, the country's largest
audience for women's tennis in history (WTA Tour).
