The 11.5/21 Nielsen rating for the Knicks-Spurs Game
One was "the lowest-rated first game of the NBA Finals"
since CBS earned a 9.9 for the Rockets-Celtics in '86, and
USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke writes that the 36% fall-off from
last year's Bulls-Jazz Game One rating of 18.0 was
"surprising" (USA TODAY, 6/18). In San Antonio, Jeanne
Jakle writes that NBC is using the Rockets-Knicks '94 series
as a "more apt comparison," and that the 11.5/21 is 9% lower
than the '94 Game One rating of 12.6/23 (EXPRESS-NEWS,
6/18). In Houston, David Barron notes that Michael Jordan's
absence "obviously is playing a huge role in the drop" in
ratings, but, "Maybe there's something about Texas and New
York that doesn't translate elsewhere" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE,
6/18). In Boston, Jim Baker writes that both the "public's
turnoff from player greed that led to a lockout" and the
"50-game mini-season hit NBC in a big way" (BOSTON HERALD,
6/18). NEWSDAY's Steve Zipay writes that "there's trouble
in River City for NBC Sports," citing Jordan's absence, a
"ripple effect" from the lockout and the possibility that
the Spurs and Knicks are "simply not attractive enough" as
reasons for the ratings dip. Zipay: "The message being sent
may be this: The league and the networks need to worry about
the product on the floor, rather than the emphasis on mass-
marketing everything" (NEWSDAY, 6/18). DAILY VARIETY's Tom
Bierbaum writes that while NBC "got burned" in its rating,
Game One "scored impressive numbers by mid-June standards,"
as NBC earned its best 18-49 result for that time slot
(7.5/23) since '98's NBA playoffs (DAILY VARIETY, 6/18).
THE BUZZ: Pilson Communications President Neal Pilson
said that the public "could write off" the Knicks-Spurs
series if there is a blowout, "much in the same way it wrote
off the World Series between the Yankees and Padres"
(HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/18). Mediacom's Jon Mandel: "When you
compare it to other sports, it's like a baseball postseason
rating. The NBA did some damage to the fans with the
lockout. It will take a while to repair" (USA TODAY, 6/18).
REFUND: DAILY VARIETY's John Dempsey writes that
TNT/TBS will return "about" $17M to cable operators in
return for 32 lost NBA games during the lockout. The rebate
is a "one-time only payment of about" $.25 per subscriber.
One "insider" said that TNT/TBS would "get an undisclosed
sum" from the NBA "to help make up for loss of ad revenues
from the 32 missed games," with NBC also to receive "some
remuneration from the NBA" (DAILY VARIETY, 6/18). For more
on the NBA and the state of the league, see (#13).
