NBA Finals get whacked in ratings

Here we go again. The television ratings for the Stanley Cup finals were dismal, and it’s basically the same story for the NBA Finals.

Game 3 between the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers on ABC Tuesday night got only a 6.4 national Nielsen rating, an 11 share and an average viewing audience of 9.5 million.

The series’ first three games averaged a 6.1/11 and 9.1 million viewers. The all-time low rating for an NBA Finals, a 6.2, came in 2003, when the Spurs beat the New Jersey Nets in six games.

Game 2 of the Spurs-Cavaliers series Sunday night got a 5.6 rating with 8.6 million viewers and got trumped by HBO’s finale of “The Sopranos” that drew 11.9 million viewers, despite being on a pay-cable network that reaches only 30 million homes.

One problem for the NBA is that two of the first three games of the Finals lacked drama. Also, neither team is from a major TV market and the series’ marquee player, LeBron James, has been a disappointment.

And, as NBA Commissioner David Stern said during halftime Tuesday night, the ratings “were a sign of changing media times.”

In an interview in his New York office not long ago, Stern talked about the changing media climate. “I think we’re getting ready to eliminate the word broadcast from partners because our media partners have an appetite for a broader array of assets than what we historically think about,” he said.

That thinking will be reflected in the league’s new eight-year television contract with ESPN-ABC and TNT, to take effect with the 2008-09 season. The deal, expected to be announced soon, will have a rights fee that tops the current $765 million a year the league gets from its national media partners.

But the most interesting parts of the negotiations are the video-streaming and other advanced-media rights, and these are apparently holding up the deal from being finalized.

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One thing that might improve NBA ratings in the future is for ESPN on ABC, as it is now called, to resist using its cable-mounted camera so much during live action. The distorted picture is enough to make viewers dizzy.

If games don’t draw good ratings, maybe the NBA should try a reality show starring Kobe Bryant. Whether he realizes it or not, Bryant has a way of generating media attention.

“When I first heard about what he was doing, going from radio station to radio station, demanding to be trading, then backing off, I thought it was an impostor,” TNT’s Kenny Smith said. “I thought, ‘Who is that impersonating Kobe?’ The real Kobe couldn’t be doing that, could he?”

What set Bryant off was reading in The Times that a “Lakers insider” said he was behind the Shaquille O’Neal trade.

“I was surprised he was so upset,” Smith said. “So an ‘insider’ said he wanted the Lakers to trade Shaq. So what? That’s old news. I would hope he has apologized to his teammates.”

Told of Smith’s comments, former Bryant teammate Derek Fisher on Thursday said, “I agree with Kenny. On one hand, you have to respect someone’s frustration, but at the same time you always have to consider what is most important for the team at all times...

“But the situation between Kobe and his teammates is obviously something that will have to be addressed when training camp opens in October,” Fisher said.

“There are times when everyone feels backed into a corner and must defend himself. Kobe had one of those moments, and because he is Kobe, it gets a lot more attention. It seems he has become a poster child for negative publicity.”

Fisher, who now plays for the Utah Jazz, will spend part of his off-season working as a spokesman for the Sparks and also serve as the team’s TV commentator for at least four games.

Fisher, who turns 33 in August, said he is not thinking about retirement yet, but he is thinking of broadcasting in his future.

One of Bryant’s Lakers teammate, Luke Walton, was on a conference call with reporters Wednesday. So was his father, ABC-ESPN commentator Bill, as well as Rick Barry and son Jon, an ABC-ESPN studio analyst.

Of course the topic of Bryant came up.

Said Luke: “Living in L.A., you learn to not get involved with the media. ... Hopefully it’s going to work itself out. It’s over now. We just want it to pass and go on with our lives.

“He probably said some things that he later regretted.”

Father Bill, naturally, was tougher on Bryant.

“Kobe isn’t comfortable unless the story is about him,” he said. “The story [at the time] was about San Antonio, Utah, Cleveland and Detroit.

“He has a better team around him than LeBron James has. Is there anybody on the Cleveland team who is a better player next to LeBron than Lamar Odom is? Would the Lakers trade Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum for Zydrunas Ilgauskas?”

Short waves

Michelle Kwan was skating at the East West Ice Palace in Artesia last Saturday as the cameras were rolling. Skating with her, or at least trying to, was 10-year-old Danielle Krause of Chicago.

“Danny,” as her parents and friends call her, used to be an excellent skater. But in October 2005 she had a brain tumor removed and she lost her sight and ability to walk and speak. She is better now, but for her to even be out on the ice was an accomplishment.

Kwan was taping an episode for a “My Wish” series, which makes its debut on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on June 24. The series is a joint venture between ESPN and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

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The cast of the “Fox NFL Sunday” pregame show was at the Long Beach Convention Center this week to shoot a series of promos. The focal point of the promos is Frank Caliendo, the comic and impersonator on the show.

During a break in the shooting, Caliendo was explaining to a reporter that his role is being expanded this year and that he is now considered the fifth member of a cast that also includes new permanent host Curt Menefee, and analysts Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson.

Caliendo was then asked to join the others for a group photo for a local newspaper.

A photographer asked Caliendo: “And who are you?”

The group roared with laughter.

Said Long: “That’s priceless. We should include that in one of the promos.”

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larry.stewart@latimes.com