Bulls ratings are a slam dunk
Some sports pundits insist the Chicago Bulls will be nothing more than a mediocre team this season. But clearly hardcore fans still want to watch their team play, either in person or on television. The Bulls had a strong showing on WGN-TV, which telecast the season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, now coached by Scott Skiles, who was fired last year by the Bulls and replaced by Vinny Del Negro, who had never coached an NBA team. All of which made an intriguing backdrop for Tuesday's game and reason enough for viewers to tune in in large numbers.
The WGN telecast pulled an average 6.9 rating and 10.8 share, the highest Nielsen numbers for a Bulls game aired on the station since January 2005. Viewership for the game peaked at a 9.1 rating and 15 share.
The rating refers to the percentage of total TV households in the Chicago market with televisions tuned to WGN (one rating point equals about 35,000 households), while share reflects the percentage of televisions in use that were watching the Bulls game. The game was especially popular with men: The telecast was No. 1 in prime time in the Chicago market in every male demo, including 18-to-34, 18-to-49 and 25- to 54-year-olds.
The game telecast was also first in the local market among all adults in the 18-to-34 and 18-to-49 demographics. And best of all -- the Bulls won convincingly.

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Keep in mind that Tuesday night's game vs. the Bucks aired only in Chicago on WGN's CW 9 and not on WGN America, the former WGN Superstation, DIRECTV 307. WGN America's first game doesn't air until Saturday, November 15th vs. the Bill O'Reilly-looking Jim O'Brien and the rebuilding Indiana Pacers at United Center. I think fans around the area really wanted to see Derrick Rose make his regular season debut as the #1 overall pick in last June's NBA Draft. I'll be as interested as anyone to see what kind of audience Comcast SportsNet generates tonight when they have the game in Boston, also available nationally on ESPN. CSN also has the game tomorrow night vs. Memphis on the West side and Monday's roadie in Orlando. Let's not forget WCIU 26 "The U" has the game in Cleveland Wednesday at 6p, which can also be found on ESPN. If I'm not mistaken, the Bulls did not win a single game on WCIU last season.