NBC saw a sharp drop for its NHL Playoff game yesterday afternoon, as it unexpectedly had some competition from the NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Fox. NBC drew a 1.4 overnight for Blues-Wild Game 6 from 3:00-6:00pm ET yesterday, down 39% from Blackhawks-Blues in the same window last year. Fox aired Saturday night's rained out NASCAR race yesterday from 1:15-4:30pm, while the NBA also had Clippers-Spurs Game 4 from 4:00-6:30pm. NBC also saw a decline for its Saturday afternoon game. Capitals-Islanders Game 6 drew a 1.3 overnight, down 24% from a 1.7 for Bruins-Red Wings Game 5 last year. NBC aired Predators-Blackhawks Game 6 on Saturday night, drawing a 1.9 overnight, but there was no comp to '14 (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
FRENCH REVOLUTION: The GLOBE & MAIL's David Shoalts wrote Canada-based RDS "took a major hit to its bottom line because it was forced to match an offer for the Canadiens’ French regional rights from TVA Sports in order to hang on to the package of 60 games it has had for 25 years." A source said that this "tripled the annual cost" for RDS to C$60M, "wiping out what was a steady profit" of C$30-40M. RDS President Gerry Frappier "declined to discuss the details of the Canadiens regional contract but insisted the network remains profitable." But he also admitted that profits "are down substantially." Frappier: "It was a significant profit reset." Shoalts notes thousands of Habs fans who live outside the Canadiens’ regional broadcast -- a small slice of Eastern Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes -- were "also feeling the pain this season." Those fans "were no longer able to watch all 82 Canadiens games on RDS" because once the NHL signed the national deal with Rogers and TVA Sports, the league "decided it would no longer let RDS and the Canadiens ignore the blackout restrictions followed by the other six Canadian-based NHL teams" (GLOBE & MAIL, 4/27).
BUFFALO SOLDIER: In Buffalo, Alan Pergament noted it has "been about a year" since Sabres play-by-play broadcaster Rick Jeanneret, who battled throat cancer last summer, first encountered symptoms and "several months since he was declared cancer-free." He "still has another scan scheduled Monday but he doesn’t appear to be worried about it." Jeanneret: "I feel great." Jeanneret this season "worked all 47 games that he was contracted to do" despite missing the first six weeks of the season. He said, "In some cases, I know I can’t hit the high notes like I used to be able to. That’s progression and time, that’s all that is. I have to work a little harder at the games to maintain my concentration." He added, "I’ve read criticism that I missed a call. I confused a player. The problem is they were right. How can I be upset about the criticism when they are correct?" (BUFFALONEWS.com, 4/26).
