With the Chicago Bulls having swept the star-studded defending NBA Champion Miami Heat, the NBA is looking at the prospect of yet another hit to television ratings.
First, the immediate consequences — due to the sweep, TNT is essentially forced to televise Nets/Raptors Game 5 on Tuesday (Heat/Bulls Game 5 was originally scheduled), a game that is unlikely to send casual fans flocking to their television sets.
Long term, the situation is more dire. While Bulls/Pistons has the potential to be one of the best series in a long time in the NBA, the lack of star power will make the series one with far smaller numbers than a Heat/Pistons series would have garnered. Additionally, the chance of a Heat/Cavaliers Eastern Conference Final — a series that could have broken ratings records for TNT — is now gone, and while Cavaliers/Bulls or Cavaliers/Pistons would bring decent numbers, network executives are now left wondering what could have been.
Consider the star power lost — Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal and Pat Riley are virtually brands in and of themselves, with mainstream recognition. One is infinitely more likely to see Shaq on Regis and Kelly than Ben Gordon or Rip Hamilton.
In a postseason where ratings are already either flat or down from last year, this quick and dominant Heat defeat could crush any hopes the networks had of repeating last year’s ratings success.
