It was not quite a lump of coal, but the Christmas Day Cavaliers/Lakers showdown dropped double-digits from last year.
The Cavaliers’ win over the Lakers drew a 4.4 final rating and 8.3 million viewers on ABC Christmas Day, down 17% in ratings and viewership from a 5.3 and 10 million for Cavaliers/Lakers the previous year.
Compared to Suns/Lakers in ’07 (3.5, 6.0 mil), the game was up 26% and 39%, respectively.
Despite the decline, Cavaliers/Lakers stands as the third-most viewed Christmas Day NBA game since ’01, behind only the aforementioned Celtics/Lakers game and Heat/Lakers in ’04 (13.2 mil).
Earlier in the day, the Celtics’ win over the Magic drew a 3.3 final rating and 5.9 million viewers, up 3% in ratings and 2% in viewership from Spurs/Suns last year (3.2, 5.8 mil).
Compared to Heat/Cavaliers in ’07 (3.1, 5.0 mil), the game was up 7% and 17%, respectively.
Over on ESPN, Heat/Knicks drew a 1.7 U.S. rating and 2.7 million viewers — up 21% in viewership compared to last year’s Hornets/Magic telecast (2.2 mil).
Numbers for Clippers/Suns and Nuggets/Blazers on ESPN were not available.
(Nielsen)
