Media Notes

ABC earned a 9.1 overnight Nielsen rating for Thursday night’s Mavericks-Heat NBA Finals Game Four, up 8.3% from the comparable 8.4 for Spurs-Pistons Game Four last year, but down 36.8% from a 14.4 for Lakers-Pistons Game Four in ’04 (THE DAILY).

CANE AND ABLE? In Raleigh, Robbi Pickeral notes Beckett Hockey magazine went to press with the Hurricanes leading the Oilers 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals with the cover, “Canes Capture the Cup!” About 60,000 issues of the magazine will hit U.S. and Canadian newsstands next week, “whether or not the Canes host the trophy.” The Hurricanes currently lead the series 3-2 (NEWS & OBSERVER, 6/16).

FC Barcelona Agrees To Sell TV Rights To Grupo Mediapro For $1.27B

HAWK EYE: Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delany confirmed “that the league has indeed considered” launching its own TV network, but declined to discuss specifics. Iowa state Board of Regents President Michael Gartner, a former NBC News president, said he has discussed the matter with Delany and Iowa AD Bob Bowlsby (Cedar Rapids GAZETTE, 6/15).

CIVIL RIGHTS: Spanish La Liga club FC Barcelona has agreed to sell its broadcast rights to TV production company Grupo Mediapro for more than $1.27B over seven years. Television de Catalunya, which shared the rights this past season with Sogecable, has 45 days to match the offer (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 6/16)....In N.Y., Andrew Marchand reports the NFL Giants are “soon going to announce a new deal that will keep” WFAN-AM as the team’s flagship radio station for an expected two more seasons (N.Y. POST, 6/16).

FLAG WAVING? In Chicago, Teddy Greenstein notes Comcast SportsNet Chicago, during its “SportsDay” show on Wednesday night, did not make any reference to White Sox P Sean Tracey drawing manager Ozzie Guillen’s “ire because he didn’t hit” Rangers 3B Hank Blalock after the Rangers hit White Sox C A.J. Pierzynski twice in the game. CSN Chicago News Dir Joe Riley said, “We dropped the ball.” But while CSN Chicago is a White Sox TV partner, Riley added, “Our relationship with the teams is never a factor. We don’t get a mandate from the Sox” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/16).