Media Notes

Magic-Cavaliers Game One Rating Trails Only "Idol" In Orlando Market

TNT averaged 7.321 million viewers for Wednesday's Magic-Cavaliers Eastern Conference Finals Game One, up 18.3% from 6.190 million viewers for the comparable Spurs-Lakers Western Conference Finals Game One last year. TNT posted a 27.2 local rating in Cleveland for the game and a 14.1 local rating in Orlando (THE DAILY). TNT also earned a 3.2 rating in adults 18-49 for Magic-Cavaliers and was the second-highest rated program among adults 18-34, trailing only a 3.5 for Fox' "American Idol" (DAILY VARIETY, 5/22). The 14.1 rating in Orlando marked the second-highest rating of the NBA Playoffs in the market, behind only a 16.0 for last Sunday's Magic-Celtics Eastern Conference Semifinal Game Seven (SPORTSMEDIAWATCH.BLOGSPOT.com, 5/21).

CANDID COMMENTATOR: ESPN/ABC NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy, when asked how "tricky it is to be candid as a broadcaster when you could be talking about future employers," said, "I don't really think about that kind of stuff. I try just to worry about what I'm doing right now." Van Gundy also addressed the comments Magic C Dwight Howard made of coach Stan Van Gundy, his brother. Jeff Van Gundy: "My problem with the national media, in general, is that 90% of them, instead of studying an issue, run to the player's defense. In this case, they were very critical of my brother for Howard taking just 10 shots in [Magic-Celtics] Game 5. But where is the outcry when Howard took just nine shots in Game 7, which the Magic won in a blowout? That is one way that the national media is unfair" (WSJ.com, 5/21).

GET IN THE GAME: DisneyXD.com will present five exclusive sports-themed games, developed in partnership with ESPN, beginning June 29. The games include "Mega-Ramp" (June 29), "MotoX & Rally Challenge" (July 6), "Vert Ramp" (July 13), "Rally Racing" (July 20) and "Super Park & Street" (July 27) (Tripp Mickle, SportsBusiness Journal).

SPREADING THE LOVE: The UFC has reached a new television distribution deal in Brazil and a new licensing deal in the Philippines, two of the world's MMA hotbeds. Under a one-year deal starting next month, UFC programming will appear on free-to-air television for the first time to 40 million HHs in Brazil. UFC programs already air in that country on Globosat's pay networks. The UFC also signed a new licensing deal with Sporteum Philippines to launch the first line of UFC products and sports gear in the Philippines (Jon Show, SportsBusiness Journal).