The Celtics/Lakers rivalry generated one of the highest NBA overnights on ABC since the network acquired the rights nearly a decade ago.
ABC earned a 5.0 overnight rating for Sunday’s Celtics/Lakers game, up 14% from last year’s matchup between the same two teams (LAL/BOS: 4.4), and up 52% from the comparable game in 2009 (SAS/LAL: 3.3).
Excluding Christmas Day games, the 5.0 overnight ties a 2009 Lakers/Cavaliers game as the highest for a regular season NBA game on ABC since the network regained rights to the league nine years ago.
That said, the 5.0 is tied as only the fourth largest overnight of the 2010-11 season, matching the overnight of Heat/Cavaliers on December 2 (5.0, TNT), and trailing Celtics/Magic on Christmas Day (5.3, ABC), Heat/Celtics on Opening Night (5.6, TNT), and Heat/Lakers on Christmas Day (7.3, ABC).
In just about any other year, a 5.0 overnight would easily be the highest of the season for a regular season NBA game. Last year, in fact, the 5.0 overnight for a Cavaliers/Lakers Christmas Day game was the season-high across the league’s three broadcast partners.
Sunday’s game drew an 11.1 rating in the Los Angeles market, the second-highest rating for a non-Christmas regular season NBA game on ABC. In Boston, the game drew a 10.3, a record for a non-Christmas regular season game on ABC.
Not surprisingly, Celtics/Lakers finished behind the Pro Bowl on FOX (8.6). Interestingly, ABC’s three-highest non-Christmas overnights (BOS/LAL Sunday, LAL/BOS last year, and LAL/CLE in ’09) have taken place on the same day as the Pro Bowl, and each one of the games trailed the NFL exhibition.
The game did finish comfortably ahead of the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open on CBS.
Earlier in the day, Heat/Thunder drew a 3.1 overnight, up 48% from last year. For more information on that game, click here.
