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TNT Up Big With Heat-Bulls NBA Eastern Conference Finals Opener

TNT earned a 7.4 overnight Nielsen rating for last night's Heat-Bulls NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game One from 8:03-10:37pm ET, up 40% from a 5.3 overnight for the net's comparable Lakers-Suns Western Conference Finals Game One last year, which aired on a Monday night. Heat-Bulls Game One is also up 34.5% from the comparable Celtics-Magic Game One on ABC last year, which aired on a Sunday afternoon. Heat-Bulls earned a 24.3 local rating in Chicago and a 2.3 rating in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale. Cleveland-Akron ranked fourth among all metered markets with a 10.5 local rating. The rating for ABC's coverage of the Thunder-Grizzlies Western Conference Semifinals Game Seven yesterday was not available at presstime (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).

OPRAH'S NOT THAT POWERFUL: In N.Y., Howard Beck reported rumors that Oprah Winfrey has "bumped the playoffs" from United Center are untrue. Winfrey "will occupy the arena the next two days to set up and tape a farewell show," with Heat-Bulls Game Two scheduled for Wednesday. The Eastern Conference Finals were scheduled to begin Wednesday, but because "both Eastern Conference semifinals series finished early ... Game 1 was moved up to Sunday." The "earliest Game 2 can be held is Wednesday, because Tuesday is reserved for the Western Conference finals." Television contracts do "dictate some of this," as ESPN and ABC are airing the Western finals this year and were "guaranteed the Tuesday slot." NBA Senior VP/Basketball Communications Tim Frank said Tuesday "was never on the table for the East." He added Winfrey's show "wasn't a factor" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/14).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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