Ratings during the first round of the playoffs were up across the board.
The first round of the NBA Playoffs was the highest rated and most viewed ever on ESPN. The network averaged a 2.4 rating with 2.3 million households, up 26% and 28%, respectively, from last year. Ratings were up at least 40% among men 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.
ESPN’s highest rated first round game was Game 3 of the Spurs/Suns series, which drew 3.9 million viewers on April 25.
Ratings on ABC are also up significantly from last year. ABC averaged a 3.2 rating for its five playoff games, up 19% from last season. Hawks/Celtics Game 7 drew a 3.5 rating in the 1:00 PM timeslot on Sunday afternoon, up 46% from last year, and the highest rated NBA game in the timeslot in six years.
ABC’s 3.2 average for the first round of the playoffs is the highest since 2006, and the third highest since the network began airing NBA games in 2002. Overall, ABC is averaging a 3.4 rating for six NBA Playoff games (including Jazz/Lakers Game 1), up 21% from a 2.8 through six games last year.
ESPN and ABC are not alone in seeing double digit increases for NBA Playoff action. TNT saw an 11% jump in viewership for 22 first round games, and its best household viewership since 1994.
Overall, ESPN, ABC and TNT combined to average 10.7 million viewers for the first round of the playoffs*, up 22% from 8.8 million viewers last year.
Viewership for the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
ABC*: 4.7 million (up 16% from 3.9 million in ’07)
ESPN: 3 million (up 36% from 2.2 million in ’07)
TNT: 3 million (up 11% from 2.7 million in ’07)
*excluding Hawks/Celtics Game 7
