This Week's Newsmakers: NBC Flying Like A Bird With Derby Results
THE DAILY each Friday offers our take on the performances over the past week of people and entities in sports business. Here are this week’s newsmakers:
WIN: KENTUCKY DERBY -- The 135th Run for the Roses certainly lacked some of the usual pre-race buzz, and the weather did not cooperate. But things came to life with the actual race. The win by 50-1 long-shot Mine That Bird is a true rags-to-riches story, and it resonates for NBC Sports, which draws the biggest audience for the Derby in two decades. It also garners a rare Sports Illustrated cover for horse racing a coverage on the major news shows.
LOSE: DODGERS -- Yes, MANNY is the one being suspended until the first of July, but the Dodgers are going to be paying the price for his misdeeds, both figuratively and literally. Already assuming a risk by signing Ramirez to a mega-contract this offseason, the Dodgers doubled their interest in Manny Mania by centering their ad efforts around his popularity. Now, with his reputation all but shattered, the team is left behind to pick up the pieces, changing billboards, killing the short-lived "Mannywood" and offering ticket and merchandise refunds on all things Manny.
DRAW: VERSUS -- Buoyed by intriguing playoff matchups and a showdown between ALEX OVECHKIN and SIDNEY CROSBY, the network could not ask for a better NHL postseason to date. The net is seeing all-time highs in viewership, and the renewed prospect for Penguins-Capitals to go seven games could be akin to hitting an oil well. However, critics continue to claim Versus is hard to find, while ratings in the Windy City drop when the Blackhawks-Canucks series shifts to Versus. ROCKY WIRTZ sums up his frustration very simply: "A lot of people don't even realize that Versus exists."
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