Media Notes
ABC earned a 3.3 fast-national Nielsen rating this past Sunday for the Sylvania 300 in New Hampshire, the first race in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. The rating, which translates into 5.2 million viewers, is up 6.6% from a 3.1 U.S. area rating for the race last year on TNT. Viewership was also up 8.1% from 4.8 million viewers last year (THE DAILY).
NOTES: Broadcast sources said NESN Red Sox play-by-play announcer Don Orsillo has been tabbed by TBS to work baseball’s Division Series, though it is unknown whether he will work the ALDS or NLDS (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 9/18)....In Chicago, Philip Hersh wrote "A Love Letter To ESPN,” thanking the net for broadcasting every game of the FIFA Women's World Cup with “really good commentary" from JP Dellacamera, Julie Foudy, and Tony DiCicco. His one complaint: “Get Nike to dump the idiotic [Brandi Chastain spoof] commercial you are showing about 100 times per match" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/17).... Floyd Mayweather's manager, Leonard Ellerbe, indicated that he “negotiated with ABC for more than a year” to get Mayweather on “Dancing With The Stars,” which starts next Monday (L.A. TIMES, 9/18).
NHL 08: In Calgary, Nick Lewis gave EA Sports’ "NHL 08" for Xbox a "5 out of five" rating. It is an “incredibly smooth, easy to play title.” Commentary by NHL analysts Gary Thorne and Bill Clement is “the best we’ve ever heard,” and presentation is “fantastic overall.” The game features all 29 AHL teams, "with the ability to develop talent and sign them to NHL contracts.” It is a “slower, more simulation-based title” than "NHL 07," and it is “quite hard to score” in this version. Lewis: “Not only is this one of the best versions of EA’s NHL franchise, it’s one of the best sports games of the year” (CALGARY HERALD, 9/15). The Vancouver PROVINCE reported there is a "bit of a fuss” over uniforms in the game. Since some NHL teams have yet to unveil their new Reebok uniforms, EA released the game with some old designs but promised to have the new ones available for download. Some teams “are upset that they’ve been trumped by the game,” as some designs have been downloaded before their official release (Vancouver PROVINCE, 9/16).
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