NBA Playoffs: Celtics/Heat Game 7 Earns Cable Record 9.1 Overnight Rating

Posted by | 06/10/2012 at 2:09 pm

The first Game 7 of the NBA Conference Finals in seven years earned record numbers for ESPN.

Game 7 of the Celtics/Heat NBA Eastern Conference Finals drew a 9.1 overnight rating on ESPN Saturday night, the highest on record for an NBA game on cable television (dates back to 2003*).

The previous record was an 8.2 overnight for Thursday’s Game 6.

Overnight ratings were not immediately available for Pistons/Heat Game 7 in 2005, the most recent comparable game. The 2005 game drew a 6.2 final rating.

Saturday’s 9.1 ranks as the highest overnight for an NBA playoff game, excluding the NBA Finals, since Lakers/Kings Game 7 on NBC in 2002 (16.9).

Locally, Game 7 drew a 25.0 rating in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale — the highest ever for an NBA game on ESPN in the market, and the third-highest overall for an NBA game on cable.

In Boston, Game 7 drew a 21.7 rating, the market’s highest ever for an NBA game on cable. To put that in perspective, Game 7 of last year’s Bruins/Lightning NHL Eastern Conference Finals drew an 18.8 in the market (with the caveat that Versus was in fewer homes than ESPN is in today).

* The 9.1 is likely the highest overnight ever for an NBA game on cable, but ESPN’s records only date back to 2003.

(Saturday’s numbers from ESPN Media Zone)

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  • http://profile.yahoo.com/GDEYUQYISOX47HRGQ6O6JMNQAA MG

    The ratings are great, but it’s crazy to think that Game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals (Lakers vs. Kings) received an overnight rating of like 16. Times have certainly changed.

    Predictions for the NBA Finals:

    5 game series: 10.2
    6 game series: 11.0
    7 game series 12.0

    An average of somewhere between 17-21 million viewers, I’m guessing

    • http://twitter.com/ChrisMommsen Chris Mommsen

      Broadcast tends to get more viewership though.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrea-Cavalli/757338131 Andrea Cavalli

    I believe ratings for the Finals will be fairly similar to last year, maybe a little more depending on the lenght of the series. I just don’t want to set my expectations too high and then get disappointed.

    Anyways,  it’s kinda hard topping a Thunder vs. Heat matchup..this series is overflowing with juicy storylines and star power so the market size (Miami #16, OKC #44) shouldn’t hurt ratings that much.

    This is going to be interesting, both on the court and in TV ratings.

  • Hrana Cc

    Imagine if this game was on another day of the week not Friday or Saturday it would done even better. Still the NBA and ESPN have to happy with this number.

  • Rich S.

    The likelihood is that the Finals will average in the double digits in points for the 3rd consecutive year, which will be great news for the NBA. MLB hasn’t done that since 2005-7.

  • Jeffrey

    A double-digit average is almost a certainty. Beyond that, it will of course depend of length of the series and how compelling the games and stories are. But the league and ABC/ESPN have to be quite please with the matchup and the potential of this series, especially after a slow start to the postseason (well, compared to last year anyway). I do wish ABC used Dan Shulman on play-by-play instead of Mike Breen.