ABC's 1.7/4 overnight Nielsen rating for its first
regular season telecast of its new NHL contract was up 21%
over Fox's 1.4/4 NHL overnight rating for its regional
coverage during the same weekend last year, according to
Scott Newman of BLOOMBERG NEWS. ABC is reportedly
"promising advertisers" a 14% ratings increase for NHL games
this season, following last year's "all-time low" average
rating of a 2.0 (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 3/20). NEWSDAY's Steve
Zipay questions ABC's scheduling: "Why it tried to buck the
NCAA's second round is a mystery to me" (NEWSDAY, 3/21).
WOODS YOU BELIEVE IT? NBC's coverage of Sunday's
Lakers-Knicks game, which earned a 4.0/10 overnight rating,
was NBC's best overnight rating for a Sunday NBA game
opposite the first weekend of the NCAA men's basketball
tournament since '95. The game also represented a 14%
increase over NBC's NBA games a year ago. Meanwhile, NBC's
final round coverage of the Bay Hill Tournament, which
featured a Tiger Woods victory and earned a 5.3/11
overnight, was up 20% from last year's 4.4/9 overnight.
Saturday's third-round coverage, which earned a 3.9/9, was
up 56% over last year's 2.5/6 overnight (NBC).
WHAT IT MEANS: In Denver, Mike Littwin notes the "big
story" Sunday was Woods "clobbering the Lakers and Shaq-
Daddy and Kobe and Phil Jackson's book club ... in the TV
ratings." Littwin: "It was a rout, even though the golf,
which followed the Lakers, had to take on the brunt of NCAA
basketball and its pool-driven viewers. ... Woods is the
next Michael Jordan" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 3/21)....In N.Y.,
Bob Raissman calls the comments of coaches and players
picked up by NBC's boom mike during Sunday's Lakers-Knicks
game "boring." He adds that the halftime feature on "NBA
Showtime" which had Ahmad Rashad profiling celebrity NBA
fans was "a waste of time, but it did leave a message about
the NBA and its fans. The league caters to the glitter
people while you, the fans, who can't afford a ticket
upstairs, get tossed a gimmick" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/21).
STERN FIRM: NBA Commissioner David Stern said that the
league is committed to the use of microphones and "will not
waver despite protests." Stern: "This is about change and
the ultimate fan experience. ... And quite frankly, I'm
satisfied with the outcome" (MIAMI HERALD, 3/21).
