The NBA Finals
Let's move on to something a little lighter, like when the O.J. Simpson car chase caused everyone in America to stop watching the NBA Finals game. An NBA final may not seem like a big deal, but this one did mark a significant turning point in sports history. The Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan decided to try baseball instead of hoops, and the 1993–1994 season was the first one without him. At NBC, there was a lot of concern that the NBA might face ratings difficulties without its most well-known star.
The league nevertheless believed it had a compelling narrative to share, even without MJ. Without the Chicago Bulls' hegemony, the Houston Rockets, headed by Hakeem Olajuwon, and the New York Knicks, led by Patrick Ewing, emerged as two new, formidable rivals.
The clubs reunited for Game 5 of the series on June 7, 1994, when it was knotted at two wins apiece. O.J. Simpson made the decision to lead the California police on a high-speed chase over the 405 Freeway during the game, though, in a white Ford Bronco. ... all of it was being carried live, with the exception of NBC, on every American station.
Ultimately, the station decided to go with a picture-in-picture broadcast, giving the O.J. chase top billing on the large screen, as it was losing viewers like crazy. Still didn't function. That clash had the terrible distinction of having the lowest finals rating since the early 1980s, holding it up until 2003.
- Date:1993–1994
