NBA Playoffs: Celtics/Heat Game 2 Down From Opener, Still Strong

Posted by | 05/31/2012 at 8:34 pm

The Celtics/Heat Eastern Conference Finals earned another big audience on Wednesday.

Game 2 of the Celtics/Heat NBA Eastern Conference Finals earned 8.809 million viewers on ESPN Wednesday night, up 25% from Thunder/Mavericks Game 2 on a Thursday night last year (7.041M), and up 23% from Celtics/Magic Game 2 on a Tuesday night in 2010 (7.156M).

Compared to Heat/Bulls Game 2 on TNT last year, Wednesday’s viewership declined 12% from 10.036 million viewers.

The game ranks as the second-most viewed Game 2 of the Conference Finals over the past decade, trailing only last year’s Heat/Bulls game.

For the night, Celtics/Heat was the second-most viewed program on television, trailing only ‘Hatfields & McCoys’ on History (14.287M). The game also ranked second in the adults 18-49 demographic (3.9). The game easily topped Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on NBC (2.9M, 1.1 A18-49).

Most-Viewed Game 2s of the NBA Conference Finals
Past decade

# Date Away Home Net
Viewers (000)
1 Wed., 5/18/11 Heat Bulls TNT
10,036
2
Wed., 5/30/12 Celtics Heat ESPN
8,809
3
Sun., 5/23/04 Lakers Wolves TNT
8,163
4
Thu., 5/21/09 Nuggets Lakers ESPN
7,886
5
Tue., 5/29/12 Thunder Spurs ESPN
7,299

(Wednesday’s numbers from TV By the Numbers)

  • Timmah

    that’s a 3.9 for adults 18-49.

    • Paulsen

      You are correct; I’ll fix the error.