Tuesday night's Knicks-Heat playoff game earned a 6.1
rating on MSG, the highest rating for a Knicks game this
season (N.Y. POST, 4/30)....CTV says that the 28% decrease
in its NBA ratings this season was caused by the absence of
prime-time telecasts. Last year, the net aired three prime-
time games. CTV's Sunday afternoon NBA numbers were down
15% (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 4/30)....The Magic will appoint
Dennis Neumann as their radio play-by-play announcer next
season. Neumann has been studio host for Magic telecasts
(ORLANDO SENTINEL, 4/30)....In Dallas, Holly Cain gives
"thumbs down" to Formula One's new TV deal with FSN.
Whereas "easy access" ESPN and ESPN2 used to do live
broadcasts, FSN affils "decide when to air the races, and
sometimes that means a tape delay." While SpeedVision
carries all the races live, "few" TX stations carry that
channel (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/30)....SportsFan Radio has
acquired exclusive rights to broadcast and syndicate
national radio coverage of the '98 Preakness. SportsFan has
also added Cleveland's WKNR as an affil (BROADCASTING &
CABLE, 4/27 issue)....In N.Y., Neal Travis reports that The
Marquee Group is "getting into women's sports and books" and
is repping Ellen Ladowsky, who co-authored "How To Dump A
Guy: A Coward's Manual" (N.Y. POST, 4/30).
