ABC scored its "highest NBA Finals ratings ever last June," and tonight's Cavaliers-Warriors Game 1 raises the question of whether it is "possible for this year's showdown to draw even bigger numbers," according to Clint O'Connor of the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL. The Cavs-Warriors matchup in '16 was the "most watched NBA Finals" since Michael Jordan's last title in '98, when the Finals aired on NBC. ABC's "second highest rated series" ever was Warriors-Cavaliers in '15. LeBron James and his team have "proved to be ratings gold for ABC, which started carrying the NBA Finals" in '03. The James-led Cavaliers have "outdrawn the James-led Heat, when Miami was a finals regular." But can the third straight showdown between James and Warriors G Stephen Curry "match last year’s big numbers?" O'Connor: "Will viewers nationwide be tuned in, or will they be turned off by the three-peat?" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 6/1).
DREAM TEAM: In L.A., Tom Hoffarth noted the broadcast team of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson and Doris Burke are "starting their eighth NBA Finals together" tonight and have "put in the most time together on this event." Breen is "doing his 12th NBA Final." This is the "11th NBA Finals for Van Gundy, the most ever by an analyst." Jackson has "called more NBA Finals -- nine -- than any other African-American NBA analyst." Van Gundy said it “shocked me” when he was told about the record he is about to establish. He added, “It just shows you how fickle the two professions Mark and I chose after he got done playing." On ESPN Radio, it is "Marc Kestecher with analyst Hubie Brown and reporter Marc Stein." And ESPN's Shelley Smith, who was hospitalized on Mother’s Day with stroke-like symptoms while she was covering the Warriors-Spurs series, will "return to the arena doing daily morning reports and post-game reports" (INSIDESOCAL.com, 5/31).
VIRTUAL INSANITY: The NBA is again working with Facebook-owned Oculus and N.Y.-based production company M ss ng P eces to develop a VR documentary on this year’s NBA Finals. The entities worked together last year on “Follow My Lead: The Story of the 2016 NBA Finals,” which won a ’17 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Digital Innovation. The latest production will again look to combine sports documentary storytelling and behind-the-scenes access with the immersion and 360-degree perspective of the VR format. The film will be released this summer. The Finals documentary production extends the NBA's ongoing interest in VR, as the league also distributed select regular-season games live in the enhanced format, plus a documentary around February’s All-Star Game in New Orleans. The NBA is now working with NextVR to develop highlights packages in VR for each Finals game (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
