NBC Still Bullish on the NBA

NBC begins exclusively airing the NBA basketball playoffs in prime time Friday, for the first time in years without Michael Jordan as its main attraction. Playoff ratings have remained surprisingly strong despite the Chicago Bulls star’s retirement, thus far down only about 5% compared to 1998. NBC Sports spokesman Ed Markey said the network anticipates the NBA Finals could see a drop of 15% to 20% versus the record tune-in for Jordan’s last title run, which would still put the series in the Top 10 of all time. One major variable could be the market size of the teams involved. Having the Bulls vie for the championship ensured the Chicago area--and its 3.2 million homes, third among U.S. cities--would be glued to the TV. After the New York Knicks, however, the remaining teams hail from Portland (market No. 23), Indianapolis (25) and San Antonio (37), which don’t match the population of Chicago combined. Still, Markey pointed out when it comes to the playoffs, size doesn’t necessarily matter, at least if it’s a choice between a thrilling seven-game series and a four-game sweep. The proof: last year’s lopsided World Series, which drew record-low ratings despite featuring the victorious New York Yankees.

Screen Gems Is No Longer in Limbo

The arrival of a new John Sayles movie is always greeted as something of an event in Hollywood but there will be another arrival this week that has the movie industry also taking notice. Sayles’ film, “Limbo,” will open in limited release Friday in nine U.S. cities under the new Screen Gems banner at Sony Pictures Entertainment. Sony created the new distribution label in December to provide a haven for those movies that fall between Columbia Pictures’ mainstream releases and smaller, specialized films handled by Sony Pictures Classics. In effect, Sony wants Screen Gems to develop the same brand-name reputation for quality that 20th Century Fox has managed to develop in its Fox Searchlight label, which has released such films as “The Full Monty” and “William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Perhaps it isn’t so ironic, then, that Sony recently tapped Fox Searchlight’s Senior Vice President Valerie Van Galder to head up marketing at Screen Gems. Television viewers should already be familiar with Screen Gems. First incorporated in 1948 as the TV subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, the company is best known for such TV sitcoms as “Bewitched,” “Father Knows Best,” “Gidget” and “The Donna Reed Show,” and in 1974, it became Columbia Pictures Television. Sony believes that the Screen Gems label will not only allow it to find and develop new, cutting-edge talent, but enable the studio marketing department to devote more attention to midsize films at the same time Columbia Pictures mounts large advertising and publicity campaigns for its mainstream pictures, like this summer’s comedy “Big Daddy,” starring Adam Sandler. “Limbo” had been developed for Columbia but was tapped as the first Screen Gems release by Sony Pictures Chairman John Calley. Set in Alaska, it tells the story of three people who become stranded on a remote island fearing that drug dealers are out to kill them. The movie stars Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, David Strathairn and Vanessa Martinez. Next up for Screen Gems on July 9: “Arlington Road,” a thriller starring Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins.

Hey, Girls, Is This the New Hanson?

Can there possibly be room for another teen pop group? The latest boy band is a family affair called the Moffatts, four Canadian brothers who play the Roxy on Friday and then release their U.S. debut album, “A New Beginning,” on June 8. Capitol Records is promoting the group in hopes that it can tap into the burgeoning youth pop market that has embraced the Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync and 98 Degrees. But the Moffatts--15-year-old triplets Clint, Dave and Bob, along with 16-year-old brother Scott--are far different. Instead of slick choreography, heavily produced harmonies and clean-cut hunkiness, the Moffatts play their own instruments and write all their own songs, and two of them sport long tresses. All that may not be a selling point, though: Remember Hanson? That sibling trio had the same hallmarks but has fallen out of favor with teen fans. Not to worry, says Grammy-winning producer Glen Ballard, who worked on the album: “They are very gifted musicians. I was impressed with their focus, their discipline. . . . They’re long-term.”

--Compiled by Times Staff Writers and Contributors