NBC won primetime among all networks last night on the strength of the Blackhawks' 6-5 win in OT over the Bruins in Stanley Cup Final Game 4. The game drew a 4.6 overnight rating, up considerably from a 2.6 for Red Wings-Penguins Game 4 in ’08. That marks the last time a Game 4 aired on the broadcast network; the game the previous four years had aired on NBC Sports Network. Last night’s telecast earned a 28.9 local rating in Boston and a 22.0 rating in Chicago. The game mainly went up against re-runs on the other broadcast nets, though Fox did roll out two original episodes of "MasterChef" and ABC aired new episodes for three series (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor). SPORTING NEWS' Jesse Spector notes after two games on NBCSN, the Final "returned to NBC on Wednesday, and for nearly four hours, viewers got to hear Mike Emrick's assortment of verbs, with passion in his voice to match what the players put forth on the ice" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 6/20). Meanwhile, SI's Michael Farber writes an appreciation for the Original Six teams was "not merely manifest in the participating cities, where predictably the ratings for Game 1 on June 12 were splendid but in neutral places like Buffalo (8.5) and Las Vegas (4.1) and West Palm Beach, Fla. (4.3), where they were the highest in more than a decade." NHL COO John Collins said of the Final matchup, "Everyone understands the magic" (SI, 6/24 issue).
WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST...: In Austin, Gary Dinges reported KXAN-NBC during OT "cut away from the action, airing ads for its morning newscast and a local car dealer, causing viewers to miss the game-winning goal." KXAN's Facebook page "was overflowing Wednesday night with angry messages from viewers," and the 30 seconds of missed hockey action was the "talk of Twitter." KXAN's broadcast team, which had "absolutely nothing to do with the colossal blunder, had the unfortunate task of apologizing for the flub during the station's late newscast." Meteorologist Jim Spencer said, "Computer automation will bite you sometimes" (AUSTIN360.com, 6/19).
NO REST FOR THE LOYAL: In Toronto, Tim Alamenciak writes with the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final "running side-by-side, every night offers the promise of a fantastic game but overtime can stretch play well into the wee hours." Tonight's NBA Finals Game 7 is "sure to be no exception with a start time" of 9:00pm ET. Tuesday's Game 6 went until 12:15am because of OT. Similarly, Stanley Cup Final games have "been going late, with one game stretching well past midnight" thanks to triple OT (TORONTO STAR, 6/20).
ALL IN GOOD FUN? In Boston, Christine McConville notes WEEI-FM execs are "standing by their hosts despite an X-rated stunt, saying the sports talk station won't discipline" hosts Mike Mutnansky and Lou Merloni for "sending a pornographic cake with the words 'Welcome to Boston' to a Chicago sports talk station" (BOSTON HERALD, 6/20).
