NBA ratings are "off to a slow start" on TNT, dropping
20% from Nielsen ratings during a similar period in November
'97, according to John Dempsey of DAILY VARIETY. For the
first eight NBA cablecasts of the '99-2000 season, TNT is
averaging "only a 1.6 rating in cable homes, compared with a
2.0 rating for the comparable period in 1997, which covered
nine games." Last year's NBA games in November were
canceled due to the lockout. Ratings for the three
Wednesday TBS games have averaged a 1.8, up 6% from a 1.7 in
'97. Diamond Sports President Rick Gentile attributed the
ratings drop on TNT to a number of reasons: "There's no buzz
about the NBA right now. With Michael Jordan retired,
there's a changing of the guard, but no player or team has
emerged to grab the spotlight" (DAILY VARIETY, 12/1).
HAWKS RATINGS YET TO SOAR: In Atlanta, Prentis Rogers
writes that Hawks games on WHOT-TV have "hovered around" the
1.0 mark in the local ratings. The viewership base "has
been hurt by WHOT's unavailability for some 200,000 homes
and by the team's slow start" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 12/1).
