As reported yesterday, ABC earned a 3.7/8 final Nielsen
rating for its coverage of four Stanley Cup Finals games, up
9% from Fox' 3.4/6 for its three games in '99. ABC's four
games averaged 5,510,000 viewers, up from Fox' 4,870,000 in
'99. ABC reported growth in demos for male teens (12%), men
18-24 and men 18-49 (6% each) and women 18-24 (36%). Non-
NHL cities with increased viewership included Seattle
(150%), Charlotte and Sacramento (53% each), Portland (50%),
Orlando (41%), Oklahoma City (36%), San Antonio and San
Diego (27% each), Providence (22%), Baltimore (20%) and
Houston (16%). ABC's ten playoff broadcasts averaged a 2.5
rating this year (NHL). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir notes the
playoff ratings increase comes as ABC and ESPN "are jointly
spending" $120M per year for NHL rights (N.Y. TIMES, 6/14).
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Cynthia Littleton writes that
despite the growth in ratings over '99, viewers' "chilly
reception" to the Stanley Cup Finals led to ABC finishing in
third place in Nielsen ratings for the week with 9.4 million
viewers (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/14). DAILY VARIETY's Rick
Kissell writes that CBS's "Survivor" finished first for the
week in adults 18-34 with a 7.6/28. With the Stanley Cup
Finals, ABC "slipped" to third in homes (6.3 million) for
the first time since January 3-9 (DAILY VARIETY, 6/14).
CANADIAN NUMBERS: In Toronto, William Houston writes
that for the NHL postseason, the CBC's average audience of
1.399 million was down 13% from '99 (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/14).
NHL ON THE WEB: The WALL STREET JOURNAL INTERACTIVE's
David Sweet puts NHL.com in his "miss" column due to "lack
of speed," as a few weeks after the site's relaunch, it is
"by far the slowest site to download among the four major
league venues" because of its "video-heavy" home page.
Another "miss" is www.dallasstars.com, as three days after
the Stars' loss to the Devils, the term "'1999 Stanley Cup
Champions' was still emblazoned in large capital letters at
the top of" the team's home page (WSJ.com, 6/14).
NBA GIVES NBC A WIN: NBC's coverage of the Pacers-
Lakers NBA Finals help the network win the week, as NBC
averaged 10.66 million viewers, followed by CBS' 10.61
million. While basketball "finally delivered major ratings"
to NBC, ABC's Stanley Cup Finals "dragged down" their
numbers (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/14). DAILY VARIETY's Kissell
writes that NBC won the week in adults 18-49 (DAILY VARIETY,
6/14). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Littleton writes that the
total-viewer average for the first three games of the NBA
Finals is 15.6 million, "close to" the '99 average of 15.9
million for the first three games of Knicks-Spurs. But the
series is down 41% from '98, which drew 26.3 million viewers
for the first three games of Bulls-Jazz. This year's Men
18-49 demo average of 8.3/26 is down 11% from '99's 9.3/30
and 41% from '98's 14.0/40 (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/14).
CNNfn's Mary Kathleen Flynn reported NBC's "airing of the
NBA Finals is far from a slam dunk in the ratings. ...
That's not good news for [NBC] as it is only in year two of
a four-year contract that cost the network $1.75 billion"
(CNNfn, 6/13). USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke reports that NBC
"will make money on the playoffs because of getting" a Game
Five in the Finals, while also having two Game Sixes and a
Game Seven in the Conference Finals (USA TODAY, 6/14).
REVIEWS: In Atlanta, Prentis Rogers writes, "Little
fault can be found with NBC's game coverage." But Rogers
adds that NBC's research department execs are "searching for
answers on the glaring [ratings] disparity between the
major-market [overnight] and national ratings" and it "hopes
to have a few by the end of the week" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION,
6/14). The WALL STREET JOURNAL INTERACTIVE's Sweet writes
that NBA.com is a "hit" for its NBA Finals package as
visitors to the site can select their own video highlights.
A TV schedule is also "prominently placed, so fans quickly
know when games begin" (WSJ.com, 6/14).
