Sports Media Digest- April 23, 2012

http://sportsmediajournal.com/ We are back from vacation, rested, and ready to resume our daily duties: Stanley Cup Playoffs Continue on NBC- NBC has two games tonight as the opening rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue. Game one at 7:00p.m. ET will feature the NY Rangers at the Ottawa Senators. John Forslund and Brian Hayward have the call on NBC Sports Network. The nightcap at 9:00p.m. ET on CNBC will pit the Phoenix Coyotes at the Chicago Blackhawks. Dave Strader and Brian Engblom have the call. Last NBA Regular Season Double Header on ESPN Wednesday- ESPN will have its last NBA regular season double header this Wednesday night. Game one pits the Los Angeles Clippers at New York Knicks at 8:00p.m. ET. Dan Shulman, Hubie Brown and Lisa Salters will call the game. At 10:30p.m. ET the San Antonio Spurs take on the Phoenix Suns with Dave Pasch and Chris Mullin calling the game. NBA TV To Produce Nine NBA Playoff Games- NBA TV has announced that it will be producing up to nine NBA Playoff games this season. Through its partnership with Turner Sports, TNT commentators will call the games. NBA TV coverage will also will include interviews with coaches, who will also wear microphones during the games. NBA TV’s playoff schedule will be released on Friday. Wednesday Night Baseball has Angels/Rays- This week’s Wednesday Night Baseball on ESPN will have the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at the Tampa Bay Rays. First pitch is at 7:00p.m. ET with Dave O’Brien, Nomar Garciaparra, and Pedro Gomez. UEFA Champions League Semi-Final Match Sets Ratings Mark for Fox- Last week’s first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final match between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona gave Fox Sports its largest non-final Championship League ever ever. The game was telecast on FX. The match last Wednesday garnerd an audience of 592,000 viewers, a network-record for soccer. That number was 21% higher than last year’s semi-final between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona. The other semi-final, between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid on FOX Soccer scored 308,000 viewers, up +20% from the network’s first semifinal (FC Schalke 04 vs. Manchester United FC) last year. The second leg of the semi-finals with FC Barcelona hosting Chelsea FC will be on Tuesday, April 24 at 2:00p.m. ET on FOX Soccer. Bayern Munich travels to Real on Wednesday, April 25 at 2:00p.m. ET on FX. Fox Sports to Get Into the Boxing Game- Fox Sports has reached a multi-year, multi-media agreement with Golden Boy Promotions to provide live boxing content in the United States and internationally. Golden Boy fights will be carried on FOX Deportes, FOX Sports regional networks, and FUEL TV. The first match will take place May 4th at 11:00p.m. ET.