NBA Playoffs: Nine Million Viewers For Celtics/Heat Game 1

ESPN drew strong numbers for series-opener between the Celtics and Heat.

Game 1 of the Celtics/Heat NBA Eastern Conference Finals drew 8.989 million viewers on ESPN Monday night, up 29% from Thunder/Mavericks Game 1 on a Tuesday night last year (6.982M), and up 28% from Celtics/Magic Game 1 on a Sunday afternoon in 2010 (7.030M, ABC).

Compared to Game 1 of last year’s Heat/Bulls Eastern Conference Finals on TNT, viewership declined 19% from 11.109 million.

Monday’s game ranks as the fourteenth-most viewed NBA game ever on cable, and the third-most viewed game on ESPN. In addition, the game ranks as the third-most viewed conference final opener of the past decade, trailing only Heat/Bulls last year and Lakers/Kings Game 1 on NBC in 2002 (9.153M).

Despite the strong numbers, Celtics/Heat was not the most-viewed program of the night on cable, trailing ‘Hatfields & McCoys’ on History (13.866M).

In the key adults 18-49 demographic, however, the game was the highest rated program in all of television (4.1).

15 Most-Viewed NBA Games Ever on Cable

#	Date	Game	Round	Net	Viewers (000)
1	Sun., 5/15/11	Heat/Bulls	ECF Gm. 1	TNT	11,109
2	Sun., 5/22/11	Bulls/Heat	ECF Gm. 3	TNT	10,889
3	Sun., 2/9/03	West/East	All-Star	TNT	10,829
4	Thu., 5/26/11	Heat/Bulls	ECF Gm. 5	TNT	10,407
5	Tue., 5/26/09	Cavs/Magic	ECF Gm. 4	TNT	10,075
6	Wed., 5/18/11	Heat/Bulls	ECF Gm. 2	TNT	10,036
7	Thu., 5/28/09	Magic/Cavs	ECF Gm. 5	TNT	9,995
8	Tue., 5/24/11	Bulls/Heat	ECF Gm. 4	TNT	9,770
9	Mon., 5/25/09	Lakers/Nuggets	WCF Gm. 4	ESPN	9,731
10	Mon., 5/31/04	Wolves/Lakers	WCF Gm. 5	TNT	9,438
11	Wed., 5/27/09	Nuggets/Lakers	WCF Gm. 5	ESPN	9,238
12	Mon., 6/1/05	Pistons/Heat	ECF Gm. 7	TNT	9,149
13	Sun., 2/20/11	East/West	All-Star	TNT	9,093
14	Mon., 5/28/12	Celtics/Heat	ECF Gm. 1	ESPN	8,989
15	Thu., 5/13/10	Cavs/Celtics	Semis Gm. 6	ESPN	8,983