Friday night's Jazz-Bulls NBA Finals Game Two earned
NBC a 16.6/31 final rating and the network estimates that it
was watched by 53 million viewers, making it the most-
watched and highest rated Game Two in history. The previous
Game Two mark was the '91 Bulls-Lakers Final, which earned a
16.1/29 with 46 million viewers. Through the first two
games of the series, NBC is averaging an all-time high
rating of 17.3/31, a 10% increase from the previous two-game
high set in the Bulls-Suns '93 Final. This year's number is
a 12% improvement from last year's Final series, which,
through two games, was averaging a 15.4 rating (NBC Sports).
USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke writes that the 17.9 all-time high
for an entire series, set in '93, "appears out of reach
unless this series lasts at least six games." NBC Sports
President Dick Ebersol: "We've made a profit (with a five-
game series). It will have meant that unlike every other
sports franchise in the '90s, the NBA will have made a
profit for us every year" (USA TODAY, 6/9). DAILY VARIETY's
Tom Bierbaum reports that Sunday night's Game Three blowout,
which garnered a 16.8/28 overnight rating, may mean that NBC
"is losing some drama and ratings momentum" for its Finals
coverage. However, Bierbaum adds that the net "could still
be headed to a record average" if the Jazz can make it a
competitive series again (DAILY VARIETY, 6/9).
A GOOD NIGHT'S SWEEP FOR NHL? In NJ, Bridget Wentworth
writes that the possibility the NHL Stanley Cup Finals will
feature a sweep for the fourth straight season "scares [Fox
and NHL] bigwigs to death." NHL Senior VP/CEO Steve
Solomon: "The only thing worse than three sweeps in a row
would be four." In examining NHL ratings, Wentworth adds
that the NHL and Fox "are still searching for an audience
that cares" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 6/9).
