Sports BIZ Briefs

NLCS Least Watched Series Ever
The National League Championship Series featured two anonymous mid-market teams in a late-night sweep. Not surprisingly, the series was the lowest rated, least watched League Championship Series ever. The Colorado Rockies' four game sweep over the Arizona Diamondbacks drew a 2.8 average national rating for TBS. Game 1 finished #4 for the week on cable, behind Monday Night Football, Game 4 of Indians/Yankees, and Twitches Too. Game 3 finished #6 for the week; Game 2, which drew a record low 2.2 national rating, did not finish in the top 15. On the strength of three appearances in the top ten, TBS won the week on cable. TBS averaged a 3.6 rating for two games with 8:00 PM start times, and a 2.4 rating for two games with 10:00 PM starts.

Pats/Cowboys Rates High
The excessively hyped game between the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys drew an 18.5/35 overnight rating on Sunday, up 37% from Chiefs/Steelers last year. The game is the highest rated game of the season, and the 18.5 marks the highest overnight for a regular season game.

National Lacrosse League Cancels Season
The National Lacrosse League has announced the cancellation of its 2008 season. The cancellation was triggered by the Professional Lacrosse Players Association's executive committee rejecting the league's last Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) proposal. "I would like to apologize to our fans, first and foremost", said NLL Commissioner Jim Jennings. "We are deeply disappointed that the PLPA's executive committee rejected our proposal without permitting all of the players to vote on the league's final offer. The offer included annual raises for all players in each year of the contract. Our owners made the best offer they could make while maintaining a sound business model."

Tiger and Gatorade Team Up
The Gatorade Company, a division of PepsiCo, and Tiger Woods announced today a collaboration to develop Tiger-inspired sports performance beverages for athletes at all levels. Terms of the licensing deal were not disclosed. "Gatorade has been part of my game plan for years, whether I'm training or competing, so this is an ideal match," said Woods. "Gatorade is a winning brand with a proven formula and the science to back it up. That's why I wanted to partner with them. I'm eager to launch my first signature product in a few months and look forward to developing additional sports performance beverages with Gatorade in the coming years." The first product, Gatorade Tiger, is a Gatorade Thirst Quencher subline that will be launched in March 2008. The subline charters new territory for Gatorade, as it marks the first-ever licensing deal for the $5 Billion brand (US) and Tiger Woods' first-ever endorsed sports beverage.