Media Notes

ABC earned a 10.2/19 overnight Nielsen rating for last night’s Mavericks-Heat NBA Finals Game Five, up 2.0% from the comparable 10.0/18 for Spurs-Pistons Game Five last year, but down 33.8% from a 15.4/24 for Lakers-Pistons Game Five in ’04. Last night’s broadcast included several cross-promotional spots for Warner Bros.’ “Superman Returns” featuring highlights of Heat C Shaquille O’Neal, who has a Superman tattoo, mixed with clips of the movie character (THE DAILY). In Dallas, Barry Horn notes ABC twice used a promo featuring suspended Mavericks G Jerry Stackhouse “thanking viewers for tuning into the game” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/19).

FOX & THE HOUND: In N.Y., Bob Raissman reported Fox has “enlisted some of its baseball voices” to help the net sign a new rights deal with MLB. The broadcasters have been seen “schmoozing with influential owners, hoping to convince them that MLB should continue its relationship with Fox.” Sources said that MLB “may have a new TV deal within the next couple of weeks” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/17)....Fox is dropping its coverage of Saturday’s Nationals-Orioles game, meaning a “full blackout of the game” in Baltimore and DC is possible unless the start time is moved to the evening. This is the second time Fox has dropped a Nationals game (WASHINGTON TIMES, 6/17).

NOTES: HBO Sports drew 330,000 PPV buys for the Bernard Hopkins-Antonio Tarver fight June 10, resulting in $16.5M in revenue (HBO Sports)....CBS aired Champ Car driver A.J. Allmendinger using an expletive on his radio after he won the Grand Prix of Portland yesterday. Allmendinger said to his crew, “Thanks guys! You were f——-g awesome!” (CBS, 6/18).

CLARIFICATION: An item in Friday’s issue about the Trail Blazers closing pre-draft workouts to the media misrepresented the team’s media policy. The team requires all interview requests to go through the media relations department, but the club’s media policy says nothing about reporters having to submit questions beforehand. The Daily regrets the error (THE DAILY).