The Mavericks’ playoff opener barely squeezed by the Rangers’ regular season game in Dallas-Ft. Worth Saturday night, but the Rangers won the direct head-to-head battle. Meanwhile, NBC Sports Network earned record local ratings for second round action in St. Louis, Nashville, and Phoenix.
- Mavericks Outdraw Rangers Saturday, But Only Slightly: Saturday’s Mavericks/Thunder NBA playoff game drew an 8.0 combined rating in Dallas on ESPN and independent affiliate KTXA, finishing slightly ahead of the concurrent Rangers/Rays Major League Baseball regular season game on FS Southwest (7.6). When the two events aired head-to-head from 9:30 PM ET to 11:15 PM, the Rangers won the ratings battle 8.0 to 6.2. (Dallas Morning News)
- Kings/Blues Game 1 Sets NBCSN Record in St. Louis: NBC Sports Network’s exclusive coverage of Friday’s Kings/Blues Game 1 drew an 8.3 rating in St. Louis, the market’s highest rating ever for an NHL game on the network. Though big for NBC Sports Network, the numbers were well off the pace set by Fox Sports Southwest during the Blues/Sharks first round series. Game 1 of that series drew a 9.7 on FS Southwest and Game 3 drew an 11.0. (NBC Sports Group)
- Predators/Coyotes Also Sets Local Records on NBCSN: On Sunday, Game 2 of the Predators/Coyotes series drew a 4.79 rating on NBCSN in the Nashville market, the market’s highest rating for an NHL telecast on the network. By comparison, local RSN SportSouth drew ratings of 4.4 (Game 1), 3.8 (Game 2), 5.0 (Game 4) and 5.2 (Game 5) during the Predators/Red Wings first round series. In Phoenix, Game 2 drew a 3.84 rating, also a local record for a game on NBCSN. (NBC Sports Group)
