Here's a surprise. Lots of local TV sets were tuned in to local TV stations to watch the Jazz during the month of May.
Lots and lots.Best of all for both KJZZ-Ch. 14 and KSL-Ch. 5, the Jazz hung around in the playoffs long enough to get lots of exposure. Ch. 14 broadcast a total of 10 playoff games during the May sweeps, while NBC affiliate Ch. 5 telecast three games.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the games on Ch. 14 ranged from a low rating of 13 to a high of 24. As for those games on Ch. 5, there was a 23 and two 27s. (Each rating point represents about 6,500 homes.)
And the numbers on Ch. 14 could have been higher, but those games were also being cablecast on TNT or TBS in much of Utah.
More astounding still is that the shares on these games ranged as high as 68 - which means that, of all the television sets in use in Utah at the time the game was going on, 68 percent were tuned in to the Jazz.
Here's a quick look at the local broadcast ratings of each playoff game (as indicated by who the Jazz were playing):
- Blazers Game 5 (Ch. 5): 27
- Spurs Game 6 (Ch. 14): 27
- Sonics Game 2 (Ch. 5): 27
- Sonics Game 2 (Ch. 14): 24
- Spurs Game 3 (Ch. 5): 23
- Spurs Game 4 (Ch. 14): 20
- Spurs Game 5 (Ch. 14): 18
- Spurs Game 1 (Ch. 14): 16
- Blazers Game 1 (Ch. 14): 15
- Blazers Game 2 (Ch. 14): 14
- Blazers Game 3 (Ch. 14): 14
- Blazers Game 4 (Ch. 14): 13
- Spurs Game 2 (Ch. 14): 12
Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing what the local ratings were for Games 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Western Conference finals between the Jazz and the Sonics were - the May sweeps ended on May 22.
THERE'S STILL MORE: Not only did the Jazz games themselves draw great ratings, but so did shows about the Jazz.
KSL's weeknight updates at 10:30 p.m. were all over the place, ranging from a 6 rating to a 21. But the average of a 12 rating and a 27 share - 80,000 homes - is nothing short of great.
Ch. 2's three Saturday Jazz updates averaged a 5/12 (31,000 homes), which is quite good considering the strong competition from Ch. 5's "SportsBeat Saturday."
CHECKING THE NUMBERS: Here's a rundown on how the local sports shows did during the May sweeps period. (And there's nothing particularly surprising about any of it - the numbers are right in line with what each of the shows has done in the past.)
- "SportsBeat Sunday" (Ch. 5): 10/31 - 70,000 homes
- "SportsBeat Saturday" (Ch. 5): 8/21 - 53,000 homes
- "Dave Fox Sports Den" (Ch. 2): 4/12 - 29,000 homes
- "Buzzball" (Ch. 4): 3/9 - 23,000 homes
- "Doug Miller Outdoors" at 6:30 p.m. (Ch. 5): 3/8 - 18,000 homes
- "Sports Sound-off" (Ch. 5): 2/15 - 17,000 homes
- "Doug Miller Outdoors" at 11 p.m. (Ch. 5): 2/10 - 16,000 homes
- "Fox Sunday Sports Page" (Ch. 13): 2/3 - 12,000 homes
(I suppose if we cheat a bit and add the audience for both broadcasts of "Doug Miller Outdoors" - assuming the same people aren't watching the same show twice - that would make the KSL broadcast third on the list, behind the two editions of "SportsBeat."