David Stern
The National Basketball Association has scuttled the first two weeks of the regular season as part of its dispute with the players union, and the impact on television programming and the league finances is huge.
As Reuters reports, TNT, ESPN and ABC collectively shell out about $930 million to broadcast NBA games, while earning some $1.25 billion ad revenue — and that doesn't even include regional sports-cable channels.
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Novak Djokovic
ESPN has secured full TV rights to Wimbledon, ending NBC's 43-year coverage of the Grand Slam tournament.
The network and the All England Club reached a 12-year agreement beginning next year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Watch highlights from the Djokovic-Nadal final
ESPN had previously owned the rights to air the early rounds, with NBC picking up coverage in the second week, ending with its "Breakfast at Wimbledon" broadcasts of the finals. However, NBC has drawn ire from fans (including Dirk Nowitzki) for ...
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Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd
Game 6 of the National Basketball Association finals emerged as a slam-dunk winner in the ratings, averaging 21.07 million viewers on ABC, according to preliminary Nielsen figures.
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LeBron James
Game 4 of the National Basketball Association finals attracted 13.30 million fans in the last two hours of prime time Tuesday, helping ABC easily win the night, according to preliminary Nielsen figures.
It also scored a 5.5 rating among 18-to-49-year-olds — an increase of 17 percent against last year's Game 4 overnight numbers.
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The Cleveland Show
What did it take to convince 10-time NBA All-Star Dirk Nowitzki to lend his voice to an upcoming episode of The Cleveland Show?
Just a little help from fellow NBA players, including Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal, Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.
Watch full episodes of The Cleveland Show
"They said, 'Well everybody...
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The Cleveland Show
LeBron James loves Cleveland! Sorry, Cavaliers fans, not your Cleveland. The basketball superstar and six fellow NBA All-Stars make a fast break to Cleveland Brown's hometown of Stoolbend, Virginia, on Fox's The Cleveland Show on February 13. "Cleveland and Donna go to L.A. to see the NBA All-Star Game," says executive producer Mike Henry (who voices Cleveland). "Cleveland gets appropriately drunk and starts heckling the players, and they get their feelings hurt. They all come together and vow to go to Virginia and track Cleveland down and set him straight."
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David Blaine courtesy of the NBA
The NBA will unveil a new on-air promotional campaign this weekend during playoff games. Dubbed “Unbelievable,” the series of spots features magician David Blaine humorously attempting to debunk the mind-boggling abilities of NBA stars. First up, starting Saturday, are spots with LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets which offer “explanations” for their skills at slam-dunking and shot-blocking, respectively.Coming next week are promos highlighting two-time league MVP Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns), Ben Gordon (Chicago Bulls), and Baron Davis, whose heroics just led the Golden State Warriors to a major first-round upset of the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks. Somewhere, an ad with Dirk Nowitzki must be collecting dust.
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