ABC drew solid numbers for the second weekend of the NBA Playoffs.
Last Sunday’s Cavaliers/Bulls Game 4 drew a 3.7 final rating and 5.7 million viewers on ABC, up 6% in ratings and 7% in viewership from Cavaliers/Pistons Game 4 last year (3.5, 5.4 mil), up 6% and 10%, respectively, from Spurs/Suns Game 4 in ’08 (3.5, 5.2 mil) and up 12% in ratings and viewership from Suns/Lakers Game 4 in ’07 (3.3, 5.1 mil).
Excluding Game 7s, Cavaliers/Bulls stands as the highest rated, most-viewed first round NBA Playoff game on any network since Suns/Lakers Game 4 on ABC in ’06 (4.3, 6.0 mil).
Even including Game 7s, Sunday’s game ranks as the #2 first round playoff game since ’06, behind only Bulls/Celtics Game 7 on TNT last year (4.4, 7.0 mil).
Earlier Sunday, Game 4 between the Celtics and Heat drew a 2.6 final rating and 3.9 million viewers, down 21% in ratings and viewership from Celtics/Bulls Game 4 last year (3.3, 5.0 mil), up 8% and 16%, respectively, from Cavaliers/Wizards Game 4 in ’08 (2.4, 3.4 mil), and up 8% and 12%, respectively, from Bulls/Heat Game 4 in ’07 (2.4, 3.5 mil).
Through four games, ABC is averaging a 3.0 rating and 4.6 million viewers for coverage of the 2010 NBA Playoffs, even in ratings and up 1% in viewership from last year (3.0, 4.5 mil).
(ESPN)
