The 0.9/3 Nielsen rating for the "NHL on Fox" last
Sunday is a record low for the net's NHL broadcasts, and is
down 55% from last year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinal coverage
over the same weekend (Fox). BLOOMBERG's Scott Newman
reports that the NHL has "some television viewers -- they're
just watching on cable," as the league is "enjoying a
ratings resurrection" on ESPN. ESPN's NHL playoff ratings
are up 11%, while ESPN2's are up 12%. ESPN VP/Programming
Dick Glover: "Fox is in a lame-duck situation where they're
not putting huge support behind the sport. Fans know with
us now, where to look for it" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 5/7). ESPN's
coverage of Tuesday's Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Game
Seven, featuring the Penguins-Devils, averaged a 1.3 rating,
making it the fourth most-watched Quarterfinal-round playoff
game in ESPN history. ESPN2's telecast of the Western
Conference Quarterfinal Game Seven, featuring the Blues-
Coyotes, averaged a .85 rating, making it the fourth most-
watched NHL game in ESPN2 history (ESPN).
NBA RATINGS: The "NBA on NBC" averaged a 4.3/10 final-
season rating, down 6.5% from last year's 4.6/12 (NBC)....In
Toronto, Chris Zelkovich writes that Toronto's TV schedule
for this weekend "could lead one to believe that this is a
basketball country," as Toronto-area viewers are being
offered seven NBA playoff games tomorrow and Sunday, and
"all but five of the first-round playoff games will be on
local TV." Ratings for the NBA in Canada "are up about" 25%
over last year, and New VR's Raptors schedule averaged
77,000 viewers while TSN's national games averaged 106,000
and CTV averaged a "little better than" 200,000. CTV's
ratings are "about one-fifth a figure skating audience" and
Zelkovich concludes that while "things are looking up for
the NBA," it "still has a long way to go in this country"
(TORONTO STAR, 5/7)....The Pistons averaged a 6.4 rating on
WKBD-UPN, up 23% from last season's 5.2. On Fox Sports
Detroit, Pistons ratings were "almost double" last season's
average, up from a 1.5 to a 2.9 (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 5/7).
ESPN SEES BUMP FROM NEW SLOT: ESPN's new 10:00pm PT
edition "SportsCenter" has increased ESPN's HH rating for
the time period from 288,218 to 437,341, up 52%. The new
show is attracting 78% more men, ages 18-34 (ESPN).
