Ratings and viewership for every single game of the 2011 NBA Playoffs.
With a damaging lockout just weeks away, the 2011 NBA Playoffs may have been the league’s farewell to relevance, at least for the foreseeable future. But to paraphrase former coach Phil Jackson, if this was NBA’s last dance, it was a wonderful waltz for the league’s TV partners.
The 2011 NBA Playoffs averaged approximately 5.9 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV. When games on NBA TV are excluded, the playoffs averaged approximately 6.4 million viewers, up from 5.7 million last year.
TNT’s coverage of the postseason was the most-viewed not just in the history of Turner Sports, but in the history of cable television. The network set records for the first round, second round and Conference Finals. In particular, the Eastern Conference Finals between the Heat and Bulls earned three of the five largest NBA audiences ever on cable, including an all-time cable record 11.109 million for Game 1.
ABC also had increases for playoff coverage. ABC’s early round coverage was the highest rated since 2004, and the network’s coverage of the NBA Finals was the highest rated and most-viewed for a non-seven game series since 2004 (details available here). Game 6 of the NBA Finals drew 23.880 million viewers on ABC, the second-largest audience for any NBA game since 1998 (details available here).
Averages for the postseason on ESPN were not available.
Game-by-game ratings for previous NBA Playoffs are available here: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006.
Ratings and Viewership For 2011 NBA Playoffs
|
Date
|
Time
|
Game
|
Round, Gm. #
|
Series
|
Net
|
Rating
|
Viewers (000)
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., 4/16/11 | 1:00 PM | IND 99, CHI 104 |
First, G1
|
CHI 1-0
|
ESPN |
2.4
|
3,567
|
| 3:30 PM | PHI 89, MIA 97 |
First, G1
|
MIA 1-0
|
ABC |
3.0
|
4,546
|
|
| 7:00 PM | ATL 103, ORL 93 |
First, G1
|
ATL 1-0
|
ESPN |
2.1
|
3,328
|
|
| 9:30 PM | POR 81, DAL 89 |
First, G1
|
DAL 1-0
|
ESPN |
2.1
|
3,456
|
|
| Sun., 4/17/11 | 1:00 PM | MEM 101, SA 98 |
First, G1
|
MEM 1-0
|
TNT |
2.0
|
2,836
|
| 3:30 PM | NO 109, LAL 100 |
First, G1
|
NO 1-0
|
ABC |
3.7
|
5,950
|
|
| 7:00 PM | NY 85, BOS 87 |
First, G1
|
BOS 1-0
|
TNT |
3.6
|
5,989
|
|
| 9:30 PM | DEN 103, OKC 107 |
First, G1
|
OKC 1-0
|
TNT |
3.1
|
5,038
|
|
| Mon., 4/18/11 | 7:00 PM | PHI 73, MIA 94 |
First, G2
|
MIA 2-0
|
TNT |
2.1
|
3,402
|
| 9:30 PM | IND 90, CHI 96 |
First, G2
|
CHI 2-0
|
TNT |
3.1
|
4,908
|
|
| Tue., 4/19/11 | 7:00 PM | NYK 93, BOS 96 |
First, G2
|
BOS 2-0
|
TNT |
3.0
|
4,730
|
| 7:30 PM | ATL 82, ORL 88 |
First, G2
|
TIE 1-1
|
NBA TV |
0.2
|
274
|
|
| 9:30 PM | POR 89, DAL 101 |
First, G2
|
DAL 2-0
|
TNT |
2.5
|
3,846
|
|
| Wed., 4/20/11 | 8:00 PM | DEN 89, OKC 106 |
First, G2
|
OKC 2-0
|
TNT |
2.1
|
3,292
|
| 8:30 PM | MEM 87, SA 93 |
First, G2
|
TIE 1-1
|
NBA TV |
0.3
|
536
|
|
| 10:30 PM | NO 78, LAL 87 |
First, G2
|
TIE 1-1
|
TNT |
3.4
|
5,352
|
|
| Thu., 4/21/11 | 7:00 PM | CHI 88, IND 84 |
First, G3
|
CHI 3-0
|
NBA TV |
0.5
|
652
|
| 8:00 PM | MIA 100, PHI 94 |
First, G3
|
MIA 3-0
|
TNT |
2.6
|
3,875
|
|
| 10:30 PM | DAL 92, POR 97 |
First, G3
|
DAL 2-1
|
TNT |
2.3
|
3,268
|
|
| Fri., 4/22/11 | 7:00 PM | BOS 113, NY 96 |
First, G3
|
BOS 3-0
|
ESPN |
2.2
|
3,411
|
| 8:00 PM | ORL 84, ATL 88 |
First, G3
|
ATL 2-1
|
ESPN2 |
0.9
|
1,342
|
|
| 9:30 PM | LAL 100, NO 86 |
First, G3
|
LAL 2-1
|
ESPN |
2.8
|
4,578
|
|
| Sat., 4/23/11 | 2:30 PM | CHI 84, IND 89 |
First, G4
|
CHI 3-1
|
TNT |
2.2
|
3,534
|
| 5:00 PM | DAL 82, POR 84 |
First, G4
|
TIE 2-2
|
TNT |
2.1
|
3,176
|
|
| 7:30 PM | SA 88, MEM 91 |
First, G3
|
MEM 2-1
|
ESPN |
2.0
|
3,131
|
|
| 10:00 PM | OKC 97, DEN 94 |
First, G3
|
OKC 3-0
|
ESPN |
2.4
|
3,664
|
|
| Sun., 4/24/11 | 1:00 PM | MIA 82, PHI 86 |
First, G4
|
MIA 3-1
|
ABC |
3.1
|
5,025
|
| 3:30 PM | BOS 101, NY 89 |
First, G4
|
BOS 4-0
|
ABC |
4.2
|
7,020
|
|
| 7:00 PM | ORL 85, ATL 88 |
First, G4
|
ATL 3-1
|
TNT |
2.7
|
4,506
|
|
| 9:30 PM | LAL 88, NO 93 |
First, G4
|
TIE 2-2
|
TNT |
3.9
|
6,281
|
|
| Mon., 4/25/11 | 8:00 PM | SA 86, MEM 104 |
First, G4
|
MEM 3-1
|
TNT |
2.2
|
3,354
|
| 8:30 PM | POR 82, DAL 93 |
First, G5
|
DAL 3-2
|
NBA TV |
0.3
|
416
|
|
| 10:44 PM | OKC 101, DEN 104 |
First, G4
|
OKC 3-1
|
TNT |
2.3
|
3,539
|
|
| Tue., 4/26/11 | 7:30 PM | ATL 76, ORL 101 |
First, G5
|
ATL 3-2
|
NBA TV |
0.3
|
373
|
| 8:00 PM | IND 89, CHI 116 |
First, G5
|
CHI 4-1
|
TNT |
2.6
|
4,061
|
|
| 10:30 PM | NO 90, LAL 106 |
First, G5
|
LAL 3-2
|
TNT |
3.6
|
5,837
|
|
| Wed., 4/27/11 | 7:00 PM | PHI 91, MIA 97 |
First, G5
|
MIA 4-1
|
TNT |
2.4
|
3,623
|
| 8:00 PM | MEM 103, SA 110 |
First, G5
|
MEM 3-2
|
NBA TV |
0.5
|
835
|
|
| 9:30 PM | DEN 97, OKC 100 |
First, G5
|
OKC 4-1
|
TNT |
2.9
|
4,266
|
|
| Thu., 4/28/11 | 7:30 PM | ORL 81, ATL 84 |
First, G6
|
ATL 4-2
|
NBA TV |
0.3
|
501
|
| 8:00 PM | LAL 98, NO 80 |
First, G6
|
LAL 4-2
|
TNT |
2.4
|
3,871
|
|
| 10:30 PM | DAL 103, POR 96 |
First, G6
|
DAL 4-2
|
TNT |
2.2
|
3,400
|
|
| Fri., 4/29/11 | 9:00 PM | SA 91, MEM 99 |
First, G6
|
MEM 4-2
|
ESPN |
2.7
|
4,220
|
| Sun., 5/1/11 | 1:00 PM | MEM 114, OKC 101 |
Semis, G1
|
MEM 1-0
|
ABC |
3.1
|
4,787
|
| 3:30 PM | BOS 90, MIA 99 |
Semis, G1
|
MIA 1-0
|
ABC |
5.8
|
9,169
|
|
| Mon., 5/2/11 | 8:00 PM | ATL 103, CHI 95 |
Semis, G1
|
ATL 1-0
|
TNT |
3.4
|
5,588
|
| 10:30 PM | DAL 96, LAL 94 |
Semis, G1
|
DAL 1-0
|
TNT |
4.0
|
6,429
|
|
| Tue., 5/3/11 | 7:00 PM | BOS 91, MIA 102 |
Semis, G2
|
MIA 2-0
|
TNT |
3.7
|
6,006
|
| 9:30 PM | MEM 102, OKC 111 |
Semis, G2
|
TIE 1-1
|
TNT |
3.2
|
4,867
|
|
| Wed., 5/4/11 | 8:00 PM | ATL 73, CHI 86 |
Semis, G2
|
TIE 1-1
|
TNT |
3.3
|
5,211
|
| 10:30 PM | DAL 93, LAL 81 |
Semis, G2
|
DAL 2-0
|
TNT |
4.5
|
7,036
|
|
| Fri., 5/6/11 | 7:00 PM | CHI 99, ATL 82 |
Semis, G3
|
CHI 2-1
|
ESPN |
2.3
|
3,610
|
| 9:30 PM | LAL 92, DAL 98 |
Semis, G3
|
DAL 3-0
|
ESPN |
4.7
|
7,658
|
|
| Sat., 5/7/11 | 5:00 PM | OKC 93 MEM 101 |
Semis, G3
|
MEM 2-1
|
ESPN |
2.4
|
3,677
|
| 8:15 PM | MIA 81, BOS 97 |
Semis, G3
|
MIA 2-1
|
ABC |
4.9
|
8,202
|
|
| Sun., 5/8/11 | 3:30 PM | LAL 86, DAL 122 |
Semis, G4
|
DAL 4-0
|
ABC |
5.3
|
8,886
|
| 8:00 PM | CHI 88, ATL 100 |
Semis, G4
|
TIE 2-2
|
TNT |
3.8
|
6,260
|
|
| Mon., 5/9/11 | 7:00 PM | MIA 98, BOS 90 |
Semis, G4
|
MIA 3-1
|
TNT |
4.7
|
7,824
|
| 9:30 PM | OKC 133, MEM 123 |
Semis, G4
|
TIE 2-2
|
TNT |
3.5
|
5,592
|
|
| Tue., 5/10/11 | 8:15 PM | ATL 83, CHI 95 |
Semis, G5
|
CHI 3-2
|
TNT |
3.3
|
5,100
|
| Wed., 5/11/11 | 7:00 PM | BOS 87, MIA 97 |
Semis, G5
|
MIA 4-1
|
TNT |
4.3
|
6,777
|
| 9:30 PM | MEM 72, OKC 99 |
Semis, G5
|
OKC 3-2
|
TNT |
3.4
|
5,462
|
|
| Thu., 5/12/11 | 8:00 PM | CHI 93, ATL 73 |
Semis, G6
|
CHI 4-2
|
ESPN |
3.1
|
5,085
|
| Fri., 5/13/11 | 9:00 PM | OKC 83, MEM 93 |
Semis, G6
|
TIE 3-3
|
ESPN |
2.9
|
4,750
|
| Sun., 5/15/11 | 3:30 PM | MEM 90, OKC 105 |
Semis, G7
|
OKC 4-3
|
ABC |
4.4
|
7,141
|
| 8:00 PM | MIA 83, CHI 102 |
ECF, G1
|
CHI 1-0
|
TNT |
6.2
|
11,109
|
|
| Tue., 5/17/11 | 9:00 PM | OKC 112, DAL 121 |
WCF, G1
|
DAL 1-0
|
ESPN |
4.3
|
6,982
|
| Wed., 5/18/11 | 8:30 PM | MIA 85, CHI 75 |
ECF, G2
|
TIE 1-1
|
TNT |
6.1
|
10,036
|
| Thu., 5/19/11 | 9:00 PM | OKC 106, DAL 100 |
WCF, G2
|
TIE 1-1
|
ESPN |
4.4
|
7,041
|
| Sat., 5/21/11 | 9:00 PM | DAL 93, OKC 87 |
WCF, G3
|
DAL 2-1
|
ESPN |
3.7
|
6,175
|
| Sun., 5/22/11 | 9:00 PM | CHI 85, MIA 96 |
ECF, G3
|
MIA 2-1
|
TNT |
6.4
|
10,889
|
| Mon., 5/23/11 | 8:30 PM | DAL 112, OKC 105 |
WCF, G4
|
DAL 3-1
|
ESPN |
4.6
|
7,410
|
| Tue., 5/24/11 | 9:00 PM | CHI 93, MIA 101 |
ECF, G4
|
MIA 3-1
|
TNT |
6.1
|
9,770
|
| Wed., 5/25/11 | 8:30 PM | OKC 96, DAL 100 |
WCF, G5
|
DAL 4-1
|
ESPN |
4.5
|
7,012
|
| Thu., 5/26/11 | 9:00 PM | MIA 83, CHI 80 |
ECF, G5
|
MIA 4-1
|
TNT |
6.4
|
10,407
|
| Tue., 5/31/11 | 9:00 PM | DAL 84, MIA 92 |
Finals, G1
|
MIA 1-0
|
ABC |
9.0
|
15,171
|
| Thu., 6/2/11 | 9:00 PM | DAL 95, MIA 93 |
Finals, G2
|
TIE 1-1
|
ABC |
9.3
|
15,522
|
| Sun., 6/5/11 | 8:00 PM | MIA 88, DAL 86 |
Finals, G3
|
MIA 2-1
|
ABC |
9.1
|
15,338
|
| Tue., 6/7/11 | 9:00 PM | MIA 83, DAL 86 |
Finals, G4
|
TIE 2-2
|
ABC |
9.6
|
16,126
|
| Thu., 6/9/11 | 9:00 PM | MIA 103, DAL 112 |
Finals, G5
|
DAL 3-2
|
ABC |
10.8
|
18,318
|
| Sun., 6/12/11 | 8:00 PM | DAL 105, MIA 95 |
Finals, G6
|
DAL 4-2
|
ABC |
13.3
|
23,880
|
UPDATED 6/14/2011: The numbers for Game 6 of the NBA Finals have been adjusted to a 13.3 rating and 23.880 million viewers, up from the fast-national totals (13.1, 23.511M) released on Monday.
(2011 playoff ratings courtesy Turner Sports, Son of the Bronx, Media Life Magazine, Robert Seidman)
