2009 Playoffs

[BtownBeers]

Fully agree Jay.

[NICKinDALLAS]

What Jay said. They may have their TV deal locked up, but if you don't think that they are still looking at the ratings you're nuts. Lebron = ratings and la = ratings. The only ppl that will care about melo and/or howard live in those respective cities.

[BtownJay]

Yuck... way to suck Nuggets.

I had Denver +6 points last night. It looked great all game until the final quarter.

[AndyC0803]

Originally Posted by BtownJay

TV Deal or not... don't you think they can get more money from comercials if its Kobe vs. Lebron? I don't think there is any question that ratings will be higher in that series vs. a Nuggets/Magic series.

Originally Posted by NICKinDALLAS

What Jay said. They may have their TV deal locked up, but if you don't think that they are still looking at the ratings you're nuts. Lebron = ratings and la = ratings. The only ppl that will care about melo and/or howard live in those respective cities.

Well sure, LeBron & LA would garner a higher rating but people are acting like it would be a disaster for the league if it is Denver/Orlando and all I'm saying is that it won’t be. Besides, I'd be willing to bet that a substantial amount of the advertising is already sold so it's not like they would be able to jack up the price if LA or Cleveland are in the Finals. Furthermore, the Finals start like two days after the conference finals end, ESPN/ABC aren't selling all the ad space in just those two days.

People in sports and sports media know that “dream matchups” are just that because they are so rare. While the possibility of a LeBron/Kobe Finals is exciting, you can’t possibly bank on it and the people involved in advertising have to understand that.

Originally Posted by BtownJay

Yuck... way to suck Nuggets.

I had Denver +6 points last night. It looked great all game until the final quarter.

What I thought was interesting is you could totally see the wheels coming off of Denver as it was happeneing and you just KNEW there was no way they would come back.

[AndyC0803]

Source: CNBC

NBA, ABC Won't Automatically Lose From Matchup
Published: Thursday, 28 May 2009 | 2:21 PM ET
By: Darren Rovell
Sports Business Reporter

It's one of the most popular conversations. How much will the NBA and ABC suffer if the ideal Finals matchup of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers doesn't pan out?
Millions of dollars? Tens of millions?
Actually, the answer is closer to no loss of money at all and that's even if the worst case scenario of the Nuggets-Magic matchup comes to fruition.
Sure, Kobe and LeBron give the league and ABC the chance for a perfect storm, but it's not only the stars that lead to ratings gold.
Case in point, James and the Cavaliers played in the 2007 Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. It was the lowest rated Final of all time.
One of the contributors to that number was the all important market size. But the most important factor is quality and length of the series. You'll remember that the Spurs swept the Cavs that year.
In fact, a series between the Cavs and the Lakers that isn't competitive and is a sweep might do worse than a series between the Magic and the Nuggets that is close and goes seven games, according to Neal Pilson, former president of CBS Sports [CBS 6.99 --- UNCH (0) ], who runs his own television consultancy firm.
"The only people who pay attention to the ratings potential is the media," Pilson said. "At this point, about 95 percent of the advertising has been sold and and the sponsors are there for the long haul. They understand that the numbers fluctuate from year to year."
If anything is affected from a final rating this year, Pilson said, it's that next year's price for spots could be upped or lowered. But that's also dependent on the overall economy and the ad market.

[AndyC0803]

Stan Van Gundy Draws Up Play In Barbecue Sauce | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

[HUSKERSnCUBS]

Nuggets face Elimination tonight.

My prediction.

Nuggets by 4.

[ssigman]

lakers/magic

magic in 6

[AndyC0803]

Lakers in 6

[BtownJay]

Originally Posted by AndyC0803

Well sure, LeBron & LA would garner a higher rating but people are acting like it would be a disaster for the league if it is Denver/Orlando and all I'm saying is that it won’t be. Besides, I'd be willing to bet that a substantial amount of the advertising is already sold so it's not like they would be able to jack up the price if LA or Cleveland are in the Finals. Furthermore, the Finals start like two days after the conference finals end, ESPN/ABC aren't selling all the ad space in just those two days.

Okay, I will agree... its certainly not a disaster for the NBA had it been Denver and Orlando. And you are right, the advertising for this season is already sold. Thats done long ago... but this years ratings affect next seasons advertising. They will be selling ad space at prices this seasons finals set. So again, its not devistating... but in a down economy, the league would be affected by a smaller rating finals compared to what it would have been with a Kobe/Lebron final.

But no, the NBA is not in trouble financially no matter what the teams in the finals are.

[AndyC0803]

So the Lake Show are the champs and Phil has now won his 10th ring (Red who?) After the Lakers smoked the Magic in Game 1, I had a feeling that the series was going to be ugly, and it was. Still, congrats to the Lakers and congrats to Kobe for getting the Bill Russell MVP trophy.