NBC's coverage of last night's NBA All-Star Game earned
a 8.3/13 preliminary overnight Nielsen rating, down 31% from
'98's 12.1/19 overnight rating (NBC). USA TODAY's Rudy
Martzke writes that NBC's Doug Collins and Bob Costas "kept
pace with the fast-moving, young NBA stars." But Martzke
adds that the game's "fast pace ... magnified one of NBC's
few negatives," the absence of a continuous score box. But
he noted the use of live mics and other enhancements and
writes, "Did this All-Star fest gain new NBA fans? If not,
you can't blame NBC, which gave viewers an up-close seat"
(USA TODAY, 2/14). In Toronto, Mike Ganter writes that "one
element that worked much better in basketball than in hockey
was miking the players" (TORONTO SUN, 2/14). Also in
Toronto, Chris Zelkovich writes that the "best innovation"
of the Game was NBC's "miking of players and coaches."
Zelkovich: "Give us more of this" (TORONTO STAR, 2/14).
REVIEW ROUNDUP: Reviewing All-Star Saturday on TNT,
Ganter writes Marv Albert and Mike Fratello "were far too
interested in one-upping each other" during the coverage and
that Cheryl Miller "has a long way to go before her
abilities as a courtside reporter will be mentioned in the
same breath as her own on-court talent" (TORONTO SUN, 2/14).
