FS South DirecTV Feed Blacks Out For Conclusion Of Devils-Canes

FS South Exec Says Cause Of Blackout During Devils-Hurricanes Game Is Undetermined

The DirecTV feed of FS South "blacked out during the overtime period" of Sunday's Devils-Hurricanes Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Game Three, "only to reconnect after the Devils had scored the winning goal," according to Serna & Alexander of the Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER. FS South Media Relations Manager Kate Hart said that the cause of the problem "hasn't been determined yet." Hart: "We believe it was an isolated issue with DirecTV." Hart said that the game was "watched in its entirety on DirecTV" at FS South's HQs in Atlanta, and that "no glitches were reported at the network's technical operations center in Houston" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 4/21).

LET'S GO STREAMING: The GLOBE & MAIL's Murray Malkin reports the CBC plans to air "just the first hour" of tonight's Penguins-Flyers Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Game Four, from 7:00-8:00pm ET, before switching to Canucks-Blues Western Conference Quarterfinal Game Four. The remainder of the Penguins-Flyers game will be streamed on CBCSports.ca, though one CBC affiliate -- CHEX-Peterborough-Durham -- "will continue showing" the game (GLOBE & MAIL, 4/21). Meanwhile, the 1.7/4 overnight Nielsen rating NBC earned for its coverage of Penguins-Flyers Game Three on Sunday marked the "second-highest rated NHL game on the network this season behind" the Red Wings-Blackhawks NHL Winter Classic. The 1.7 rating is up 70% from NBC's first Sunday playoff broadcast last season, which featured Flyers-Capitals. Penguins-Flyers earned an 18/33 rating in the Pittsburgh market (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 4/21).

MORE RATINGS NOTES: FS Detroit earned a 9.7 local rating for Saturday's Blue Jackets-Red Wings Western Conference Quarterfinal Game Two, marking the highest-rated program for the day in the Detroit market. Thursday's Game One also earned a 9.7 rating, again serving as the top-rated program that night (FSN)....CSN Bay Area earned a 3.88 local rating for Sunday's Ducks-Sharks Western Conference Quarterfinal Game Two, down from a 4.2 for Thursday's Game One, which was "nearly double the previous high for a playoff opener" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 4/21).