NBA Playoffs: Another Big Drop For Pacers/Heat; Clippers/Spurs Opener Up

Posted by | 05/16/2012 at 9:50 pm

Viewership dropped by more than a quarter for the second game of the Pacers/Heat series.

Game 2 of the Pacers/Heat second round NBA playoff series drew 4.457 million viewers on TNT Tuesday night, down 26% from Celtics/Heat Game 2 last year (6.006M), but up 50% from Hawks/Magic Game 1 in 2010 (2.977).

Preliminary overnight ratings for Sunday’s Game 1 on ABC were also down 26% compared to last year’s Celtics/Heat series.

Later in the night, Game 1 of the Clippers/Spurs series drew 5.040 million viewers — up 4% from Grizzlies/Thunder Game 2 last year (4.867M), and up 8% from Jazz/Lakers Game 2 in 2010 (4.668M).

Of the 27 playoff games on TNT that can be compared to last year, Clippers/Spurs was just the ninth to have an increase in viewership.

(Tuesday’s numbers from The Futon Critic)