John Corn
01-11-03, 10:55 AM
HOLLYWOOD - After offering national telecasts of two St. Vincent-St. Mary High School basketball games, ESPN wants more.
The rating for Saturday's game featuring local star LeBron James on the network's ESPN2 channel was 0.7 percent of U.S. homes with television, down significantly from the first game in December. But it still drew more viewers than the show leading into it, said Mark Shapiro, ESPN's executive vice president of programming and production.
``USA Today now has his team number one of all high schools,'' Shapiro said at an ESPN press conference on Tuesday. ``We're going to be looking for another game to carry.''
ESPN has been accused of exploiting James, most recently on Monday by several broadcasters for competitor TNT, among them former pro Charles Barkley.
Shapiro was unapologetic.
Although the network had not carried games with the top high school team a year earlier, he said, ``That team might not have had a lightning rod of a player as St. Vincent-St. Mary does in LeBron James.''
Rest of the Story (http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/entertainment/television/4898235.htm)
The rating for Saturday's game featuring local star LeBron James on the network's ESPN2 channel was 0.7 percent of U.S. homes with television, down significantly from the first game in December. But it still drew more viewers than the show leading into it, said Mark Shapiro, ESPN's executive vice president of programming and production.
``USA Today now has his team number one of all high schools,'' Shapiro said at an ESPN press conference on Tuesday. ``We're going to be looking for another game to carry.''
ESPN has been accused of exploiting James, most recently on Monday by several broadcasters for competitor TNT, among them former pro Charles Barkley.
Shapiro was unapologetic.
Although the network had not carried games with the top high school team a year earlier, he said, ``That team might not have had a lightning rod of a player as St. Vincent-St. Mary does in LeBron James.''
Rest of the Story (http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/entertainment/television/4898235.htm)