How Heat, Panthers ratings compare. And inside TNT’s studio shows, juggling of both teams
How do South Florida’s Heat and Panthers ratings compare during this playoff run, and how do both compare to viewership for the Dolphins?
Some perspective:
▪ In Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Heat playoff games, on average, are drawing nearly four times as many viewers as Panthers playoff games during the Eastern Conference finals for both teams.
For Games 1, 2 and 3, Panthers-Carolina games on TNT drew local ratings of 2.51 (meaning 2.51 percent of local homes with television sets), 2.55 and 3.09.
Games 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Heat-Celtics series on TNT drew, in order, an 8.3, 8.45, 11.66 and 11.72.
One ratings point in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale markets equals about 17,200 homes.
▪ The ratings — just less than 12 — for Games 3 and 4 of Heat-Celtics are very comparable to the 12 rating for Game 7 on the Heat-Celtics Eastern Conference finals last May on ESPN.
▪ Also notable: The Heat ratings for Games 3 and 4 topped the 9.8 local rating for the Dolphins’ regular-season finale against the Jets, which clinched a playoff berth for Miami, but trailed the 15 local rating for the Dolphins-Bills playoff game.
The Jets and Bills games aired on Fox and CBS, networks that are in more South Florida homes than TNT.
Dolphins games last season generally drew between 9 and 11 percent of Miami-Dade/Broward homes with TV sets.
▪ So two takeaways: 1). When the Heat reaches this stage of the playoffs, ratings are similar to — and often better than — Dolphins regular-season ratings, but not quite what a Dolphins playoff game would generate. The fact Dolphins games are on free TV, and Heat games aren’t, can explain part of that disparity.
2). Though Panthers ratings are more than five times higher than their regular-season ratings, local interest is nowhere near the interest level for Heat games, if TV ratings are an indication.
▪ Nationally, Heat-Celtics ratings on TNT are very comparable to last season’s Heat-Celtics Eastern finals on ESPN.
TNT’S EDGE
TNT carrying both the Heat and Panthers — made possible by ESPN’s decision to take the Las Vegas-Dallas Western NHL finals — eliminated the chance of direct conflicts between the two South Florida teams. And there’s another advantage, too:
Turner carries full postgame shows, whereas ESPN wraps postgame coverage into “SportsCenter.”
That feels inadequate for NBA games on ESPN and seems entirely insufficient for NHL games, because ESPN typically spends several “SportsCenter” segments on other sports before getting to hockey.
While ABC has the NBA Finals every year, TNT (not ABC/ESPN) will get this year’s Stanley Cup Finals. It’s the first time since 1994 that the Stanley Cup Finals will air entirely on cable.
The two networks’ game announcing crews are comparable on the NHL (Sean McDonough, Ray Ferraro on ESPN; Kenny Albert, Ed Olczyk, Keith Jones on TNT) and NBA (Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson on ESPN/ABC and Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Stan Van Gundy on TNT).
Each network has a Van Gundy and a former Pacers guard on its lead NBA team. Both generate amusing exchanges from three-man booths featuring playful protagonists.
But TNT continues to enjoy an enormous advantage in its NBA studio, as it has for many years, because of the chemistry and laugh-out-loud moments repeatedly delivered by Charles Barkley (the most valuable studio analyst in sports TV history), Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, and the unmatched creativity of its off-camera production crew in executing “Inside the NBA’s” most popular segments, including Gone Fishing and Shaqtin’ a Fool (the weekly blooper segment).
That creativity has extended, to an extent, to Turner’s NHL studio show, which has made smart talent hires: analysts Anson Carter, Paul Bissonnette, Henrik Lundquist and Wayne Gretzky (who has displayed more personality than expected in the role), capable studio host Liam McHugh and when needed, guest studio analysts who have something substantive to say, including polished Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper for Game 2 of the Panthers-Carolina series.
The high entertainment value of Turner studio shows stems mostly from the talent and the production team. But it’s also a byproduct of how Turner does its business.
Craig Barry, Turner Sports’ executive vice president and chief content officer, mentioned in a phone conversation this week that only the hosts of the studio shows (Johnson and McHugh) generally attend production meetings, and for a very good reason:
“Instead of analysts having some kind of recall, they’re reacting real time [when Johnson or McHugh broaches a topic],” Barry said. “So the emotional connection is building between the fan and [the studio analysts]. The analysts are welcome to come to the meetings. [But generally], Ernie goes to the [NBA] production meetings and we leave the other guys out.”
The upshot is the “very few times” do the studio analysts “look at the format or ever have a working knowledge of what’s coming next in the show,” Barry said. “That provides an authentic experience where everyone is reacting at the same time.”
That approach also has created countless comical moments — and compelling television — on “Inside the NBA,” including O’Neal, Barkley and Smith being stumped when asked to name the team that random NBA backups play for, and on multiple occasions this season, ping-pong balls being dropped on Barkley’s head (the expression on his face during that millisecond when he senses impending doom — replayed in slow motion — is priceless).
“We have no problem not taking ourselves seriously,” Barry said.
In fact, the studio crew lampooning each other is encouraged and has become one of the distinguishing qualities of “Inside the NBA,” which has won 17 Sports Emmy awards.
Johnson, for example, didn’t let it slide last week when O’Neal called Max Strus “Schuster” and Smith called him “Strauss.”
“People aren’t perfect, and they recognize shows can be imperfect like real life,” Barry said.
The willingness to embrace that imperfection makes the programs “generally more appealing,” Barry said.
Johnson, sitting courtside at Kaseya Center before Game 4, said one of the keys to “Inside the NBA’s” success is “the freedom to operate and that comes from the producers, Tim Kiely who has been there since the mid-1990s, and Jeremy Levin, who followed him in a regular basis. From the day Tim took over, it’s ‘let’s make this a conversation.’
“He’s always told us, ‘Don’t look at a camera. Look at each other.’ And the freedom to talk about anything and not be tied to the stopwatch. And especially that comes into play on our postgame show where we can go a little longer. Like on the Giannis [Antetokounmpo comments after the Heat series] about failure, we must have had a 10-minute segment talking about what he said. Having the freedom to do that is what’s the best part of the show.”
Warner Brothers Discovery (TNT’s parent company) is optimistic about retaining a share of NBA rights in the new TV deal (beginning in 2024-25) and Johnson, Barkley, Smith and O’Neal all signed longterm extensions last year.
“You can’t do this forever,” Johnson, 66, said when asked if he sees a finish line for the show with this specific cast, something that hopefully is many years away.
“I’m of the ‘let’s enjoy this because we’re a part of something special,’ mind-set,” Johnson said. “The fact three of us [himself, Barkley, Smith] have been there more than 20 years together just doesn’t happen [in television]. There’s always a TV executive who [tries to change something and] says, ‘You know what’s really going to work?’ They’ve left us alone.”
If viewers favor TNT’s NBA and NHL coverage over ESPN’s — and there are many that do, if social media commentary is any indication — that’s likely largely because of the Turner studio shows, particularly the NBA.
“The studio is the true differentiator for us,” Barry said. “This is where our brand stands out. We ask our talent to be honest and unapologetic, to talk with the fan and not at the fan.”
And Barry said “the fan can be a part of those conversations” because TNT’s NBA and NHL studio shows highlight clever tweets from viewers heading into select commercial breaks.
But Barry also knows this: Studio shows “are only as good as the chemistry. We’ve managed to put together a group of people that have proven, incredible chemistry.”
That’s why “Inside The NBA,” with this cast, will be part of any discussion of the best sports studio show in television history. And that’s why TNT’s wrap-around NHL studio programming has found a comfortable, appealing rhythm.
▪ Though having two South Florida teams on its air every night has been unusual, there has been no financial or particularly tangible benefit to Turner.
The NBA and NHL games are handled by different crews; Barry said there was no overlap in support staff for the four consecutive nights of Heat and Panthers games in South Florida this week.
Top Turner executives couldn’t shuttle between Sunrise and downtown Miami for the games this week because several returned to New York for the Sports Emmys on Monday night after watching Game 3 of the Heat series on Sunday.
“I wish there was a Deion Sanders moment,” Barry said, a reference to the October day in 1992 when Sanders played an afternoon game with the Falcons against the Dolphins in Miami Gardens, then was in uniform for a Braves-Pirates playoff game in Pittsburgh that night.
But even though no money is saved, “we love simultaneously being in same city -- from a brand standpoint of having TNT being present in a single city and lighting up both arenas,” Barry said.
“And to be able to do two of the biggest sporting events in the same city [is unique]. These are two beloved teams. There’s a real charge from it. We feel like we’re coming in and serving the city.”
▪ Turner didn’t send its studio team on the road for the Panthers-Carolina series because TNT gets the Stanley Cup Finals this season and the studio team will be on site for that.
Turner has made sensible enhancements on game coverage in its two years of coverage. “We put a lot of money into super slow motion because slowing down hockey is very important,” Barry said.
QUICK NOTES
The NFL approved flex scheduling for Weeks 13 through 17 of Amazon’s Thursday night package, but flexing can be used only twice in a season and all changes must be made 28 days in advance.
▪ Marlins streaming audiences are up 92 percent over a year ago on the Bally Sports App and Bally Sports plus, and Sunday’s game at the Giants generated the highest Marlins TV rating of the year on Bally Sports Florida.
