NBA Finals Game 2 TV Ratings

[t-rex]

I am surprised to not see this posted anywhere on the first page.


Game 2 of the Heat/Thunder NBA Finals drew a 10.4 final TV rating Thursday night. It was the most watched NBA game in total audience in 11 years. It was also the highest rated game among men (18-34) since Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were playing the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals in 1998.


Source: ESPN Media Zone, ABC, Nielsen Media Research



Here is my summary charting how the NBA is doing compared with other sporting events in the last 12 months.

NBA Finals Game 1 /9.9
NBA Finals Game 2 /10.4


World Series
Game 1/8.7
Game 2/8.9

NHL Finals:facepalm
Game 1 /1.8
Game 2/1.7

WNBA Finals:cry:
Game 1/0.30
Game 2/0.33


Popular Single Day Sporting Events

BCS National Championship Game/
Alabama/LSU.................... 14.0

NCAA Kentucky/Kansas........12.3

Golf Masters Tournament...... 8.0

NASCAR Daytona 500........... 8.0

Indianapolis 500.................. 4.3

French Open, Nadal/Djokovic. 2.4
(French Open, Sharpova/Errani. 1.7)

Figure Skating Championships... 2.4

[Indian guy]

It was also the highest rated game among men (18-34) since Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were playing the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals in 1998.


LeBron :bowdown:

[PJR]

LeBron :bowdown:

This. LeGod has brought back the casual fan to the NBA. :bowdown:

[ImmortalNemesis]

This. LeGod has brought back the casual fan to the NBA. :bowdown:

:applause:

[It's A VC3!!!]

see how two small market teams can dominate ratings. it's about two star trios going head to head against each other.

[28renyoy]

This. LeGod has brought back the casual fan to the NBA. :bowdown:

I think you mean Durant :bowdown:

LeBron-Spurs in Finals: Some of the worst tv ratings ever
Durant-Spurs in WCF: 2nd best tv rating ever on TNT
Miami-Mavs in Finals<Miami-OKC in Finals

:bowdown: Durgawd

[eliteballer]

see how two small market teams can dominate ratings. it's about two star trios going head to head against each other.

Miami is NOT small market. The Miami metro is like the 5th biggest in the country

[YAWN]

LeBron :bowdown:

but for the wrong reasons :oldlol:

[inclinerator]

so does a record break every single time they play or something?

[SuperPippen]

Miami is NOT small market. The Miami metro is like the 5th biggest in the country

According to ISH logic, if you're not in NYC, LA or CHI, you're in a small market.

[t-rex]

Miami is NOT small market. The Miami metro is like the 5th biggest in the country

Miami is the 16th largest TV market in the country.

OKC is 45th.

[t-rex]

so does a record break every single time they play or something?

Its heading that way. David Stern doesn't care who wins the series, but bet your next lunch, he darn sure wants a game 7.

[SuperPippen]

I think you mean Durant :bowdown:

LeBron-Spurs in Finals: Some of the worst tv ratings ever
Durant-Spurs in WCF: 2nd best tv rating ever on TNT
Miami-Mavs in Finals<Miami-OKC in Finals

:bowdown: Durgawd

People aren't watching these Finals because of Durant. At least not primarily.

LeBron has been a huge force in rejuvenating league popularity and viewership because of the hype generated around Miami's Big 3, as well as the number people who watch games just so they can hate on LeBron.

[t-rex]

see how two small market teams can dominate ratings. it's about two star trios going head to head against each other.

These real good numbers from OKC, really make the Spurs look bad.:confusedshrug:

[eliteballer]

Miami is the 16th largest TV market in the country.

OKC is 45th.


According to the US Census Bureau, Miami's metro area is the seventh most populous and fifth-largest urban area in the United States, with a population of around 5.5 million

Get educated.

[eliteballer]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Metropolitan_Statistical_Ar eas

Listed 8th here.

[PJR]

I think you mean Durant :bowdown:

LeBron-Spurs in Finals: Some of the worst tv ratings ever
Durant-Spurs in WCF: 2nd best tv rating ever on TNT
Miami-Mavs in Finals<Miami-OKC in Finals

:bowdown: Durgawd

Troll harder bro.

Game 6,7 Eastern Conference finals received RECORD setting cable ratings. All were tuned in to watch one man: LeGawddddd

Whether you're tuning in to watch him fail or succeed, you're watching. And that's all that matters. Stern is pleased. :applause:

[L8k3r5]

I am surprised to not see this posted anywhere on the first page.


Game 2 of the Heat/Thunder NBA Finals drew a 10.4 final TV rating Thursday night. It was the most watched NBA game in total audience in 11 years. It was also the highest rated game among men (18-34) since Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were playing the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals in 1998.


Source: ESPN Media Zone, ABC, Nielsen Media Research



Here is my summary charting how the NBA is doing compared with other sporting events in the last 12 months.

NBA Finals Game 1 /9.9
NBA Finals Game 2 /10.2


World Series
Game 1/8.7
Game 2/8.9

NHL Finals:facepalm
Game 1 /1.8
Game 2/1.7

WNBA Finals:cry:
Game 1/0.30
Game 2/0.33


Popular Single Day Sporting Events

BCS National Championship Game/
Alabama/LSU.................... 14.0

NCAA Kentucky/Kansas........12.3

Golf Masters Tournament...... 8.0

NASCAR Daytona 500........... 8.0

Indianapolis 500.................. 4.3

French Open, Nadal/Djokovic. 2.4
(French Open, Sharpova/Errani. 1.7)

Figure Skating Championships... 2.4
What about the Super Bowl? I'm curious what the TV ratings were for that.

[Foster5k]

No one can deny Lebron is good tv. However, ESPN is a large reason for the NBA's ratings success. They are the ultimate hype machine.

[Foster5k]

What about the Super Bowl? I'm curious what the TV ratings were for that.
:oldlol:

Super Bowl ratings are astronomical. No use even to mention NFL ratings.

[t-rex]

Get educated.

:roll: :roll:

Um.. I am educated.

Here are the top 20 TV markets in the country. PLEASE GOOGLE IT. I dare you too!:no:


1 New York, NY
2 Los Angeles, CA
3 Chicago, IL
4 Philadelphia, PA
5 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
6 Boston, MA
7 Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
8 Washington, DC
9 Atlanta, GA
10 Detroit, MI
11 Houston, TX
12 Seattle-Tacoma, WA
13 Tampa-St Petersburg-Sarasota, FL
14 Minneapolis - St. Paul, MN
15 Cleveland-Akron, OH
16 Phoenix, AZ
17 Miami - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
18 Denver, CO
19 Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, CA
20 Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, FL


Raw population and TV market size are not necessarily the same thing. Please do everyone a favor and EDUCATE YOURSELF on how TV market size and ratings work before posting here again.:no:

Miami is not a top 5 TV market. PERIOD.

[t-rex]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Metropolitan_Statistical_Ar eas

Listed 8th here.

:facepalm

TV Market size and raw population are different categories. The two are not always counted the same way.

[Indian guy]

but for the wrong reasons :oldlol:

There's no right or wrong reason to watch something. American is completely enamored with LeBron. That's why they tune in to watch him in record numbers. No other athlete in this country has that kind of pull. Anybody else could've done The Decision and it wouldn't have generated 10% the hysteria.

[AngelEyes]

No one can deny Lebron is good tv. However, ESPN is a large reason for the NBA's ratings success. They are the ultimate hype machine.

I give ESPN little credit. Under the ABC/ESPN partnership the NBA has experienced their two worst ratings for an NBA finals, 2003 and 2007. The 90's is when the NBA was experiencing astronomical ratings and ESPN had nothing to do with the NBA back then. The can hype games but that has always been done and NBC and CBS did a tremendous job of it.

[AngelEyes]

There's no right or wrong reason to watch something. American is completely enamored with LeBron. That's why they tune in to watch him in record numbers. No other athlete in this country has that kind of pull. Anybody else could've done The Decision and it wouldn't have generated 10% the hysteria.

I think Tiger Woods has the same kind of pull.

[Indian guy]

I think Tiger Woods has the same kind of pull.

Maybe, but TV ratings for majors still don't compare to NBA Finals ratings.

[t-rex]

What about the Super Bowl? I'm curious what the TV ratings were for that.


Sure thing.

Here are the TV ratings for the last 5 Super Bowls. Nothing on broadcast TV compares to the NFL and the Super Bowl.

The game is so big TV networks don't even bid on the right to broadcast it. They simply rotate the broadcast rights to each network on an annual basis. I believe this past Super Bowl also set some kind of record for online viewership too. Nothing in this country matches up to the Super Bowl.

XLVI
Sun., 2/5/12 NYG 21, NE 17 NBC 47.0

XLV
Sun., 2/6/11 GB 31, PIT 25 FOX 46.0

XLIV
Sun., 2/7/10 NO 31, IND 17 CBS 45.0

XLIII
Sun., 2/1/09 PIT 27, ARI 23 NBC 42.0


XLII
Sun., 2/3/08 NYG 17, NE 14 FOX 43.1


The Super Bowl audience amazingly grows just about every year.

It is now so large that the teams and/or market size really doesn't matter.

Small markets New Orleans and Indianapolis actually drew a better TV audience than the big market N.Y. Giants and undefeated N.E. Patriots did 2 years earlier:bowdown: :bowdown:


NFL numbers are amazing.

[t-rex]

:oldlol:

Super Bowl ratings are astronomical. No use even to mention NFL ratings.


Agreed. And what the general public doesn't realize is that even NFL regular season games draw amazing TV results.

For instance, as great as the NBA Finals TV ratings are, NFL regular season games on a Sunday afternoon can almost double that TV audience. And that's just the regular season. All NFL playoff games go through the roof!

[keepinitreal]

I wonder if the days that nba finals game 1/2 were broadcasted matter (Tues/Thurs). do you think game 3 (Sunday) will get a higher rating?

[eliteballer]

[QUOTE]The Miami metropolitan area is a metropolitan area including Miami, Florida and nearby communities.[3][4][5][6] The U.S. Office of Management and Budget designates the area the Miami

[t-rex]

Maybe, but TV ratings for majors still don't compare to NBA Finals ratings.


Good call.

Tiger Woods is literally bigger than the game of golf. But as I posted in the OP, the Masters tournament, which is the highest rated Golf tournament every year, did not match the ratings for games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals.

When Tiger Woods is in contention, Golf TV ratings will double. It's amazing. And even after his downfall, his ratings boost is still in effect.

[t-rex]

I wonder if the days that nba finals game 1/2 were broadcasted matter (Tues/Thurs). do you think game 3 (Sunday) will get a higher rating?

Yes!

Sunday is the best night to be on TV. Sunday gives you the largest available audience. More people watch TV on Sunday than on any other day of the week.

The Sunday night TV audience is going to be massive. The TV rating Sunday night will absolutely top the TV rating for Game 1 and Game 2.

[t-rex]

http://www.stationindex.com/tv/tv-markets

Do some critical thinking...:coleman:


:facepalm

[inclinerator]

man the only reason nfl ratings are so spectacular is because its one game each week, wouldnt be that high if they played more often

[imdaman99]

nfl superbowl ratings only getting better :bowdown:

thats because all these tools that don't know anything about football want to watch commercials. fck them.

[jbryan1984]

No matter who is mostly responsible, this is great for the NBA and great for basketball.

[t-rex]

nfl superbowl ratings only getting better :bowdown:

thats because all these tools that don't know anything about football want to watch commercials. fck them.


Regardless of the reason, the only thing that counts is the final number.

The Super Bowl from this past February ranks as the most watched TV program in the history of American broadcast television.

The NFL and TV execs don't care why they are watching, as long as they are. And for whatever reason, this country can't get enough of NFL football.:confusedshrug:

[t-rex]

No matter who is mostly responsible, this is great for the NBA and great for basketball.

Agreed.:cheers:

The NBA now defeats MLB in regular season TV audience. They blow out MLB in postseason audience. And they are now beating MLB in World Series TV audience. The NBA demographics are much better than MLB in that they are younger and more diverse.


The NBA beats NASCAR. In fact not only will every game in the NBA Finals top NASCAR's top event, but the ECF did too. The NBA has better demographics than NASCAR in addition to larger audiences.


The NBA completely blows out the NHL. The NHL is flat out non-competitive against the NBA. The NBA even beat the NHL head to head in the LA and NY markets during the Stanley Cup Finals. So far the NBA Finals is drawing a TV rating 5 times as large as the Stanley Cup Finals did.


The NBA also beats GOLF, the INDY 500 and all 4 Tennis Major Championships.


The only 2 sports in the country currently outdrawing the NBA are College Football and the NFL.


All of this is excellent news. And trust me it is not lost on those who really call the shots! This is the most important number/topic to asses the health, viability and stability of our sport.:cheers:

[rs98762001]

Yes!

Sunday is the best night to be on TV. Sunday gives you the largest available audience. More people watch TV on Sunday than on any other day of the week.

The Sunday night TV audience is going to be massive. The TV rating Sunday night will absolutely top the TV rating for Game 1 and Game 2.

If the Masters goes late, and Tiger is in contention, it will possibly eat up some of the NBA game's audience.

[rs98762001]

Also, it's hard to judge an NBA or MLB season against an NFL or college football one. Those games are once a week and people plan their entire days around them. If there was one NBA Finals game, winner takes all a la the NCAA tournament, the ratings would probably be enormous.

[t-rex]

If the Masters goes late, and Tiger is in contention, it will possibly eat up some of the NBA game's audience.

Yes, this could be a big problem. We really rolled "snake eyes."The U.S. Open is in San Francisco. Therefore it will run late and into primetime Sunday night. Without Tiger Woods, this would be an afterthought. But if Woods is in contention, this absolutely will hurt our number.

The NBA will beat the U.S. Open Sunday night. But there is no question, we are going to lose a some points because of our draw. And that is a case of bad luck. :facepalm

If you are an NBA fan, you want Tiger Woods to fall flat on his face and out of contention Saturday afternoon.

[t-rex]

Also, it's hard to judge an NBA or MLB season against an NFL or college football one. Those games are once a week and people plan their entire days around them. If there was one NBA Finals game, winner takes all a la the NCAA tournament, the ratings would probably be enormous.


The ratings would be better. But it still would not approach an NFL game size audience.

[t-rex]

If the Masters goes late, and Tiger is in contention, it will possibly eat up some of the NBA game's audience.


So far for Thursday, NBC did a a 2.1 overnight Nielsen rating for the US Open's first round from 3:00-5:00pm ET. The rating is up 50% from last year. No doubt they did better today with Tiger Woods playing in their broadcast window. The ratings so far have been very good. They are building towards having a very good weekend. That's bad news for us Sunday night.:facepalm


When Woods last won the U.S, Open in 2008, NBC did a 5.3 overnight rating. It looks like if they have Woods again on Sunday night, they can expect that number and probably a little more. Another sport airing at the same time, when its quarter hour TV number is likely to be at its highest point, is going to hurt the NBA number.

Source: Sports Business Daily

[YAWN]

Tiger is gonna crush the field this weekend, tough course, but he left a handful of strokes he shouldn't have out there today.

If he is in the mix on the back 9, it will equal gigantic ratings for NBC.

And the US Open will be over before the NBA game starts so not sure why you would root for Tiger to collapse on Saturday... :confusedshrug:

[inclinerator]

Tiger is gonna crush the field this weekend, tough course, but he left a handful of strokes he shouldn't have out there today.

If he is in the mix on the back 9, it will equal gigantic ratings for NBC.

And the US Open will be over before the NBA game starts so not sure why you would root for Tiger to collapse on Saturday... :confusedshrug:
i want someone to throw a hotdog at him

[t-rex]

Tiger is gonna crush the field this weekend, tough course, but he left a handful of strokes he shouldn't have out there today.

If he is in the mix on the back 9, it will equal gigantic ratings for NBC.

And the US Open will be over before the NBA game starts so not sure why you would root for Tiger to collapse on Saturday... :confusedshrug:


I don't pretend to be a Golf expert.

My understanding is that the NBA game starts at 8pm. But because the U.S. Open is in California, it will allow NBC to broadcast golf in primetime. (3 hour time difference). They did this in 2008 with great success. So far for Thursday and Friday, the first two rounds are being broadcast until 10pm EST.

If you could add some info to correct this, I would appreciate it.
But if the golfing times are the same as they were Thursday and Friday, the NBA could be going head to head against Tiger Woods on Sunday.

[AngelEyes]

Tiger is gonna crush the field this weekend, tough course, but he left a handful of strokes he shouldn't have out there today.

If he is in the mix on the back 9, it will equal gigantic ratings for NBC.

And the US Open will be over before the NBA game starts so not sure why you would root for Tiger to collapse on Saturday... :confusedshrug:

It doesn't work that way anymore, it isn't the early 00's. Woods can still be great but he'll never be as great and the field is much better now. That level of dominance previously displayed won't be seen again.

[sekachu]

I am surprised to not see this posted anywhere on the first page.


Game 2 of the Heat/Thunder NBA Finals drew a 10.4 final TV rating Thursday night. It was the most watched NBA game in total audience in 11 years. It was also the highest rated game among men (18-34) since Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were playing the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals in 1998.


Source: ESPN Media Zone, ABC, Nielsen Media Research



Here is my summary charting how the NBA is doing compared with other sporting events in the last 12 months.

NBA Finals Game 1 /9.9
NBA Finals Game 2 /10.2


World Series
Game 1/8.7
Game 2/8.9

NHL Finals:facepalm
Game 1 /1.8
Game 2/1.7

WNBA Finals:cry:
Game 1/0.30
Game 2/0.33


Popular Single Day Sporting Events

BCS National Championship Game/
Alabama/LSU.................... 14.0

NCAA Kentucky/Kansas........12.3

Golf Masters Tournament...... 8.0

NASCAR Daytona 500........... 8.0

Indianapolis 500.................. 4.3

French Open, Nadal/Djokovic. 2.4
(French Open, Sharpova/Errani. 1.7)

Figure Skating Championships... 2.4



One different thing. People watching lebron to see his failure, People watching MJ for his success. :roll:

[YAWN]

I don't pretend to be a Golf expert.

My understanding is that the NBA game starts at 8pm. But because the U.S. Open is in California, it will allow NBC to broadcast golf in primetime. (3 hour time difference). They did this in 2008 with great success. So far for Thursday and Friday, the first two rounds are being broadcast until 10pm EST.

If you could add some info to correct this, I would appreciate it.
But if the golfing times are the same as they were Thursday and Friday, the NBA could be going head to head against Tiger Woods on Sunday.

Ah you're right. tiger tees off at 6PM EST. So he'll be hitting the back 9 at around 815PM EST.

[YAWN]

It doesn't work that way anymore, it isn't the early 00's. Woods can still be great but he'll never be as great and the field is much better now. That level of dominance previously displayed won't be seen again.

he's hitting the ball much better and consistent than he has in at least 4 years right now.

he got two fluke bad breaks today that cost him 2 strokes and also pulled an easy 4 foot putt. He could easily be up by 3. On this course thats like 7 strokes on a regular week.

[UtahJazzFan88]

Why do people care if Miami is a big market or not? NBA players want to live in Miami regardless. The nightlife and party scene is great there, just like Vegas.

[talkingconch]

Its because of the SuperFriends. If Lebron was still on cleveland you wouldn't expect this. The whole scrutiny of ''the decision'', and the hatred of lebron is why people are watching. It's intriguing.

[Lebron23]

Why do people care if Miami is a big market or not? NBA players want to live in Miami regardless. The nightlife and party scene is great there, just like Vegas.

They also want to see some naked girls at the beach.

[Lakers Legend#32]

The ratings are all about LeBron and the Heat. Bumf#ck OKC just happens to be who they are playing.

[Lakers Legend#32]

Seattle is a large market (12)
OKC is an outhouse.

[ukfan22]

lol at hockey, what a joke they are:roll:

[t-rex]

Why do people care if Miami is a big market or not? NBA players want to live in Miami regardless. The nightlife and party scene is great there, just like Vegas.

Agreed.:cheers:

In the grand scheme of things, local market size doesn't matter. Its the National number that counts. The truth is Miami is neither a large market or small market. Its about right in the middle. However, it plays much bigger, because it has a lot of appeal, and more National prominence than other areas of similar size.

[t-rex]

lol at hockey, what a joke they are:roll:


Do you know how bad you have to be to get a 1.8 TV rating on NBC during primetime?

Without exaggeration, I literally could teach a painting class on NBC primetime and probably get a 1.8!

And this is their championship game featuring the 2 largest TV markets in the country. (LA and NY TV markets).

Hockey is the biggest fraud in the history of American Sports.

It has never been very popular Nationally. It is a regional sport at best. And despite multiple attempts over generations to grow the sport into a true National pastime, it has always failed.


When I was a kid growing up, people use to talk about the "Big 4." (Baseball, Football, Basketball and Hockey). This is untrue. Hockey is not the 4th most popular sport in America. Its not arguable. Anyone who tells you differently is simply not knowledgeable enough on the topic for you to continue the discussion.

Based on fan support and community interest, Hockey might be the most over-covered Sport in America.(I think there is a heavy northeast bias when it comes to the sport.) The TV ratings are so bad, it really doesn't deserve a National TV contract. (ESPN was absolutely right to let it go.) It pains me to my heart to see a great sports outfit like NBC, doing everything they can to spend money and promote the sport, only to see it still fail. :facepalm

[Meticode]

"7 Game series for money...err...basketball reasons."

http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2008/david_stern/david_stern_01.jpg

[konex]

Those NHL ratings are almost unbelievable. Shows you the power ESPN has over sports. They better find a way to get back on there cos there is no other network than can promote a sport effectively these days

[clayton]

Sure thing.

Here are the TV ratings for the last 5 Super Bowls. Nothing on broadcast TV compares to the NFL and the Super Bowl.

The game is so big TV networks don't even bid on the right to broadcast it. They simply rotate the broadcast rights to each network on an annual basis. I believe this past Super Bowl also set some kind of record for online viewership too. Nothing in this country matches up to the Super Bowl.

XLVI
Sun., 2/5/12 NYG 21, NE 17 NBC 47.0

XLV
Sun., 2/6/11 GB 31, PIT 25 FOX 46.0

XLIV
Sun., 2/7/10 NO 31, IND 17 CBS 45.0

XLIII
Sun., 2/1/09 PIT 27, ARI 23 NBC 42.0


XLII
Sun., 2/3/08 NYG 17, NE 14 FOX 43.1


The Super Bowl audience amazingly grows just about every year.

It is now so large that the teams and/or market size really doesn't matter.

Small markets New Orleans and Indianapolis actually drew a better TV audience than the big market N.Y. Giants and undefeated N.E. Patriots did 2 years earlier:bowdown: :bowdown:


NFL numbers are amazing.
Now imagine if those rednecks start watching the NBA.

[rs98762001]

The rednecks won't. Basketball is too "black" a sport for them. The NFL has historically been sold on its white quarterbacks, and it continues today, even with as mediocre a player as Tebow. If the NBA had five Larry Birds every generation, you wouldn't have to hear the usual nonsense about how only the top-level players like Jordan, Kobe and LeBron have to "transcend race" among an American audience.

The fact that basketball is now stomping baseball in ratings and viewership, especially among younger viewers, says a lot about this country's shifts and changes in demographics and attitudes (for the better).

[t-rex]

Those NHL ratings are almost unbelievable. Shows you the power ESPN has over sports. They better find a way to get back on there cos there is no other network than can promote a sport effectively these days


The NHL has never done well.

Here are the TV ratings when even ESPN put is massive sports promotional campaign behind the NHL.



NHL Stanley Cup Finals
Average TV Ratings (2000-2004)


2004 ABC/ESPN 2.2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Calgary Flames

2003 ABC/ESPN 2.4 New Jersey Devils vs. Anaheim Ducks

2002 ABC 3.6 Detroit Red Wings vs. Carolina Hurricanes

2001 ABC 3.3 Colorado Avalanche vs. New Jersey Devils

2000 ABC 3.7 New Jersey Devils vs. Dallas Stars


When the last ESPN contract was up with the NHL, ESPN offered another contract to the NHL to continue to broadcast games. However the money (called TV rights fees) was much reduced. And under the contract ESPN only wanted to broadcast as little as one game per week on ESPN 2. The NHL claimed to be insulted by how little money and exposure ESPN wanted to give the sport, so they walked and went to NBC/Versus.

In retrospect ESPN was right. The TV ratings for the NHL were terrible. And despite the marketing promotion of ESPN, the TV ratings were getting worse. Since losing the NHL, ESPN has thrived with increased NBA, NFL and College Football coverage. (Soccer is on the rise too!) MLB is flat.

Meanwhile the NHL has moved to NBC Sports.

NBC has built its entire cable sports network around the NHL. Cable ratings for NHL playoff games haven't been bad, but not near the level of other major sports leagues in this country.

The nationally TV games on NBC have been a complete disaster. Some of the lowest TV ratings in the history of NBC have been NHL hockey games. And for those that knock NBC, claiming that they do not have the sports promotion and reach of ABC/ESPN, I would remind them that the NBA did very well with NBC. And the NFL and college football have exploded in popularity on the same NBC network


The fact that NHL is on NBC is not an excuse to justify the downright embarrassing low TV numbers for this year's NHL Finals.

[t-rex]

The rednecks won't. Basketball is too "black" a sport for them. The NFL has historically been sold on its white quarterbacks, and it continues today, even with as mediocre a player as Tebow. If the NBA had five Larry Birds every generation, you wouldn't have to hear the usual nonsense about how only the top-level players like Jordan, Kobe and LeBron have to "transcend race" among an American audience.

The fact that basketball is now stomping baseball in ratings and viewership, especially among younger viewers, says a lot about this country's shifts and changes in demographics and attitudes (for the better).

Well done! You nailed it.:applause:

[t-rex]

How is this for a Thursday night?

Total Viewers (All TV programing (not just sports) for Thursday night)

1) NBA Game 2 16.77 million people

2) The Big Bang Theory 7.8 Million people

3) The Mentalist 7.17 Million people

4) Person of Interest 7.03 million people

5) Two Broke Girls 6.11 Million People

6) America

[konex]

The fact that NHL is on NBC is not an excuse to justify the downright embarrassing low TV numbers for this year's NHL Finals.

Yikes. No wonder ESPN told them to fukk off. I guess US viewers don't want to watch a sport dominated by foreigners :hammerhead: