NBC IS LOCKED OUT BY NHL OWNERS, TOO — BUT IS THAT BAD?

The decision by the National Hockey League’s owners to initiate a lockout of the league’s players over the weekend had “good news/bad news” written all over it for NBC. On the one hand, the network is still required to pay the league $200 million as its annual payment on the $2-billion 10-year deal it signed […]

STANLEY CUP ICES BEST RATINGS SINCE 1973

Of all regularly televised sports, hockey remains the lowest-rated. Even the championship Stanley Cup Finals generally fails to draw a sizable audience. That was not the case, however, with Game 7 of this year’s Finals which, NBC said on Thursday, produced the biggest audience for an NHL game in 38 years and the most for […]

NBC ICES $2-BILLION DEAL WITH NHL

In a deal that suggests that NBC Sports and Olympics chief Dick Ebersol is still firmly in the driver’s seat, the network has agreed to pay the National Hockey League $2 billion for rights to air its games over the next ten years. That amounts to $200 million a year compared to $75 million it […]

SOCCER NOW BIGGER THAN HOCKEY, BASEBALL?

Any lingering doubts about Americans’ interest in soccer were dispelled Monday when Nielsen released figures indicated that Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands attracted 24.3 million viewers, who tuned in to the match on ABC and Univision. It was the most-watched soccer game ever on U.S. television and left other, more “traditional” […]

NBA CHAMPIONSHIPS SCORE A RATINGS SLAM DUNK

Sports specials continued to run counter to the downward trend of most broadcast network ratings as the first two games of the NBA championship series attracted the biggest audience in 16 years and the first three games of the NHL Stanley Cup drew the strongest ratings in six years. Game 2 of the NBA Finals […]

HOCKEY LIFTS NBC TO DEMO VICTORY

NBC’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals continued to draw above-average ratings for Game 2 between Philadelphia and Chicago Monday night. The hockey game averaged 5.91 million viewers — nothing to cheer about — but, more importantly, it ranked No. 1 among adults 18-49 during its last 90 minutes when it averaged 6.46 million. It […]

CABLEVISION AIRS FIRST 3D SPORTS COVERAGE

New York’s Cablevision cable system and its MSG Network hailed Wednesday night’s 3D coverage of the NHL contest between the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders, which they said was the first sports event ever broadcast in 3D on cable. MSG Media President Mike Bair was quoted in Broadcasting & Cable as calling […]