ABC drew a 12.9 overnight rating for the Warriors' 108-100 OT win over the Cavaliers on Thursday night, marking the net's best NBA Finals Game 1 overnight since it acquired TV rights for the league prior to the '02-03 season. The broadcast peaked during OT from 11:30-11:45pm ET with a 15.6 rating. Cavs-Warriors is up 24% from a 10.4 overnight for Spurs-Heat Game 1 last year, and up 22% from a 10.6 for Heat-Spurs in '13. The last time the Cavs appeared in the Finals, against the Spurs in '07, Game 1 drew a record-low 7.9 overnight. The previous high for an NBA Finals opener was NBC's Lakers-Nets Game 1 in '02, which drew a 13.0 overnight on a Wednesday night. ABC is expected to win the night among all networks for the 43rd straight time that it has aired an NBA Finals matchup. Cleveland-Akron drew a 41.4 local rating for the game, while the S.F.-Oakland-San Jose market drew a 28.9. Both were local ratings records for an NBA game on ABC. Game 1 for Spurs-Cavs in '07 drew a 34.3 local rating in the Cleveland-Akron market (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
THE LATE SHOW: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday appeared on WFAN-AM’s "Francesa" to discuss various league issues, including the 9:00pm start time for Game 1. Silver said, "We have done a lot of research and in fact, when we first went to ABC years ago we tried going an hour earlier to 8:00pm Eastern for the Finals instead of 9:00 and while I ultimately understand the issue people want to go to sleep and the impact on kids, fewer people watch when you go earlier." Silver said a 5:00pm PT tipoff, which would make for an 8:00pm ET start time, is "unworkable logistically" for season-ticket holders and from a "television standpoint." Silver added, "I recognize it’s late. It’s part of the issue of being a national product" ("Francesa," WFAN-AM, 6/2).
ACTION JACKSON: In Miami, Barry Jackson wrote he does not "have the slightest problem" with ESPN analyst and former Warriors coach Mark Jackson working the team's NBA Finals games. If anything, his insights "should make his analysis more interesting, if he’ll [be] willing to share some level of inside knowledge." Jackson "hasn't come off as blatantly pro- or anti-Warrior during ABC's coverage this postseason" (MIAMIHERALD.com, 6/3).
THE LOST CITY: In S.F., Joe Garofoli writes there was "barely a mention of the world 'Oakland' on the national telecast" of Warriors-Rockets Western Conference Finals Game 5, despite the fact that Oracle Arena is located in the city of Oakland. It was "'Bay Area' this and 'Oracle' that, as if the game was being played in some mythical land called 'Golden State.'" Nearly all the cutaway shots before the commercial breaks showed "the Golden Gate Bridge, the Transamerica Pyramid, cable cars and Alamo Square," all of which are actually located in S.F. Garofoli: "I want to hear the national media say one thing after they stream into town to cover the NBA Finals: 'Oakland'" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/5).
FLACK JACKET: COMPLEX.com's Jordan Zirm profiled ESPN's Brian Windhorst, who "because of his newfound fame" is beginning to "face the consequences of becoming one of ESPN's most recognizable personalities: the wrath of the Internet." Whether it is because he will "forever be tied" to Cavaliers F LeBron James, "his sometimes-critical nature, or his status at the Worldwide Leader, Windhorst catches more flack than most reporters in his field." What Adrian Wojnarowski "is to Yahoo, Windhorst has become to ESPN." He is "one of the most well-connected NBA reporters in the game." Now, with "millions of eyes and ears pouring over every written and spoken word, Windhorst’s insights become news fodder almost instantly." His radio and podcast appearances are "so juicy that websites like ESPN Cleveland and realcavsfans.com transcribe and post them as news." With that kind of attention "comes an inordinate amount of criticism for a man who’s usually just relaying what sources have whispered to him in the gallows of arenas or dark corners of restaurants" (COMPLEX.com, 6/4).
