2007 Western Conference Finals lowest rated in years?

[violentkitten]

where's rodman to kick a cameraman in the nuts when you need him?

[Tek_XX]

Oh man the story now on PTI is low ratings, empty seats.

[coachmac87]

they said on around the horn that yesterdays game had the same rating as the games against the suns...so i guess the country just doesnt like basketball...

[CosmicCowboy]

They need someone like John Madden with his digital pen to show the "average fan" whats REALLY happening on the floor. Maybe if they understood basketball they would appreciate this series.

then again...naaaaaa

They just want defenses to part like Moses and the Red Sea so LeBron can make a sportscenter dunk.

[steppy]

I'm not sure about anyone else but it's a thing of beauty when the Spurs execute their defense perfectly and go back the other way and make a great offensive play.

Watching a team in synch like that is what makes the games enjoyable.

[timvp]

I expect more rule changes to make sure teams like San Antonio, Utah and Detroit stop making the conference finals. It's what they did after 1999, 2003 and 2005.

The bad news for the rest of the league is that teams that play as a team can overcome any rule change. It might take a year or two to get the needed personnel to adjust to the new rules, but the cream will eventually rise to the top.

[Kori Ellis]

The 3.8 overnight is down 43% from the 6.7/15 the comparable Cavaliers/Pistons Game 7 drew on the same date last year.

I'm sure someone said this in the thread already, but why are they comparing a Game 1 to a Game 7? Of course, many more people would watch a game 7 - no matter what teams are playing.

[jacobdrj]

The cream does not always rise to the top. Period.

[Tek_XX]

I expect more rule changes to make sure teams like San Antonio, Utah and Detroit stop making the conference finals. It's what they did after 1999, 2003 and 2005.

The bad news for the rest of the league is that teams that play as a team can overcome any rule change. It might take a year or two to get the needed personnel to adjust to the new rules, but the cream will eventually rise to the top.

And what rule changes would that be? You must be four feet away from a Laker? Shaq automatically gets 20 uncontested dunks?

[ChumpDumper]

"Players who are young may go anywhere on or off the court at any time."

[Despot]

Not worried, next year James White will make us the most watched team in all of sports.

While I have come to accept the Spurs won't get the ratings, I would love to see the ratings for the other series this year and years past, part of me thinks the media is overplaying this and using it as a way to "punish" the Spurs for cheating and not letting the Suns win. I would love to see the ratings for the other series.

[atxrocker]

its the frickin san antonio spurs. and the utah jazz. is anybody surprised that people dont consider this worth watching. seriously?

[Spurminator]

I'm sure someone said this in the thread already, but why are they comparing a Game 1 to a Game 7? Of course, many more people would watch a game 7 - no matter what teams are playing.

Wow I didn't even notice that.

What a ridiculous comparison.

Still, I hope the next game is worse.

[timvp]

And what rule changes would that be? You must be four feet away from a Laker? Shaq automatically gets 20 uncontested dunks?

Spurs win it all in '99 and then suddenly they change the illegal defense rules because the Spurs had two seven-footers who could clog the lane.

Spurs win it all in '03 and they suddenly start focusing on traveling violations because the Spurs had a lot of players who pushed the boundaries of the rule (aka the big three).

Spurs win it all in '05 and then sudden you can't touch a player at all on the perimeter. That leads to a free throw war that a Spurs team could never win.

I'm not sure it was all directly aimed at the Spurs, but it did it's just nonetheless.

[smeagol]

Who cares about ratings? I want rings.

Screw Disney.

[peskypesky]

Here a couple of articles:

Spurs beat Jazz; nobody cares.


The San Antonio Spurs' Game 1 victory over the Utah Jazz drew a 3.8 overnight rating, the second-lowest of the playoffs in the late afternoon Sunday timeslot for ABC. Only Game 4 of the semi-finals between the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls, a game Detroit entered up 3-0, drew a lower overnight.

The 3.8 overnight is down 43% from the 6.7/15 the comparable Cavaliers/Pistons Game 7 drew on the same date last year. The rating is also down 27% from the 5.2/11 for Game 1 of the 2005 Western Conference Finals between the Spurs and the Suns, which also aired on a Sunday afternoon.

The 3.8 overnight is the lowest for an NBA Conference Final game in at least the past ten years, and likely the lowest ever. In fact, only one Conference Final game has drawn a final rating less than 4.0 in that span of time -- Nets/Pistons Game 1 in 2003, which drew a broadcast network record low of 3.5. Despite the record low rating, that game still drew a 4.8 overnight rating in a weaker timeslot (1:30 p.m).

Considering that the NBA has been incurring staggering drops from the overnight to the final rating this postseason, there is every likelihood that this game will end up with a final rating lower than 3.0 -- unheard of for a Conference Final game on broadcast television -- and it is extremely likely that the final rating for Game 1 will end up lower than the final rating for Game 1 of last year's Western Conference Final, which aired on cable (TNT).

off annd go lick Lebron's scrotum. It'll be hurting after y'all lose to the Pistons.

[midgetonadonkey]

Next year the league will ban defense all together. Contested shots will be met with a personal foul and blocks will be rewarded with a technical foul.

[smeagol]

its the frickin san antonio spurs. and the utah jazz. is anybody surprised that people dont consider this worth watching. seriously?

Ever watch your ugly team play?

[peskypesky]

Who cares about ratings? I want rings.

Screw Disney.

What the f has happened to basketball, when people think the best team is the one that has the highest ratings, instead of the team that wins the most games in the Finals?

As my co-worker said today, if that's how people feel, then why even keep score? Let's just give style points and forget about the rest.

[Spurminator]

2008: All baskets will now be supplemented with extra points as determined by a panel of judges including Sports TV personalities, popular former players, and one lucky fan selected in an online contest sponsored by Sprite.

Players now may be awarded up to five additional points per basket if the judges score them high on degree of difficulty, flair and finishing pose.

[pooh]

There was a game yesterday?

[ChumpDumper]

Not a Pacer game.

[smeagol]

2008: All baskets will now be supplemented with extra points as determined by a panel of judges including Sports TV personalities, popular former players, and one lucky fan selected in an online contest sponsored by Sprite.

Players now may be awarded up to five additional points per basket if the judges score them high on degree of difficulty, flair and finishing pose.

Smooth sense of humor . . .

[CosmicCowboy]

What the f has happened to basketball, when people think the best team is the one that has the highest ratings, instead of the team that wins the most games in the Finals?

As my co-worker said today, if that's how people feel, then why even keep score? Let's just give style points and forget about the rest.

No .

Lets let The Harlem Globetrotters and the Washington Generals go head to head for 7 games.

[smeagol]

Not a Pacer game.

You guys are killing me!