TV ratings peak

Even though the comparison is between Panthers playoff games and Marlins regular-season games, the fact that the Panthers are drawing larger audiences is noteworthy considering the Marlins' ratings were more than five times greater than the Panthers' during the first season for each team. The gap began to close during the past year, and the Panthers now have surged ahead.

An average of 4.3 percent of Miami-Fort Lauderdale homes with TV sets have watched three Panthers playoff games on Channel 33. In contrast, an average of 3.6 percent have watched Marlins games on Channel 33 since the NHL playoffs started.

For the season, the Marlins' average on Channel 33 has been a 3.8 -- down from an 8.0 in the Marlins' first season.

The Panthers have set a team record for TV viewers in each of their three playoff games on UPN-33. The most recent telecast -- the first game of the Flyers series -- was viewed by 4.9 percent of South Florida homes -- well above Channel 33's 1.8 regular-season average for the Panthers.

Game 5 today on Fox (3 p.m., Channels 7, 29) will be hard-pressed to set another record because afternoon games traditionally attract smaller audiences than night games.

Sunshine Network does not release ratings but says Panthers playoff telecasts have been outdrawing Marlins games recently.

TV ratings suggest the Heat is more popular than the Panthers. The Heat's two playoff games against the Bulls on free TV averaged an 8.5 rating -- nearly twice the Panthers' playoff average.

And the Panthers still are attracting much smaller local audiences than the Red Wings receive in Detroit, for example. About 18.2 percent of Detroit homes and 12.4 percent of St. Louis homes tuned in their teams' playoff game on Fox last Sunday.