ABC Earns 9.9 Overnight Rating For Lakers-Magic NBA Finals Game Two

ABC Earns 9.9 Overnight Nielsen Rating For Magic-Lakers Game Two

I LIKE THE NIGHT TIME: In Boston, Marc Spears notes five of the potential seven games in the NBA Finals tip off at 9:00pm ET, with Games Two and Five starting at 8:00pm. ESPN Senior Dir of Programming & Acquisitions Douglas White said that 9:00pm starts are the "most popular, although they finish near midnight on the East Coast." White: "Last year, the NBA wanted some reaction to some of the fan feedback for the 9 o'clock starts. We realized for maybe the folks on the East Coast the games were running past 11 o'clock, which maybe was a little bit late. We wanted to do something new to help those fans in terms of viewership." White added the 9:00pm starts "allow us to service the West Coast fans. That's something we have to take into consideration, the entire country. Not just the East Coast" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/8).

Van Gundy Providing Entertainment During Finals

BASKETBALL WITHOUT BORDERS: The L.A. TIMES' Pucin reported the NBA Finals this year for the first time are "available to a Middle Eastern audience in Arabic on Al Jazeera and for the first time since 2005 are on a free television channel in Mexico." The NBA indicated that over 250 int'l journalists were in L.A. to cover Games One and Two, while "more are expected in Orlando." The league also has been "running an elaborate operation in a separate trailer at Staples Center that provides TV feeds to 215 countries in 42 languages." NBA VP/Int'l Television Matt Brabants: "Not only are those markets wanting game coverage, but they want more out-of-game content, more than just a nightly game. Turkey is a great example. With Hedo Turkoglu doing so well in Orlando, Turkish television wants more Magic games but also more features on the NBA" (L.A. TIMES, 6/6).

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