ESPN was not alone in generating strong numbers for the NBA Playoffs over the weekend.
Game 4 of the Rockets/Blazers first round NBA playoff series earned 4.7 million viewers on TNT Sunday night, up 48% from Nuggets/Warriors last year (3.2M), up 2% from Lakers/Nuggets in 2012 (4.6M), and the most-viewed game of the playoffs on cable (29 telecasts through Monday). The Rockets/Blazers and Grizzlies/Thunder series account for the six most-viewed first round games on cable.
Earlier Sunday, TNT drew 3.8 million viewers for Game 4 of Raptors/Nets — up 8% from Spurs/Lakers last year (3.5M), and up 6% from Hawks/Celtics in 2012 (3.6M).
Shifting to Saturday’s action, Game 3 between the Spurs and Mavericks earned nearly 4.0 million viewers — up 39% from Clippers/Grizzlies last year (2.9M), and up 38% from Grizzlies/Clippers on ESPN in 2012 (2.9M). Pacers/Hawks Game 4 drew nearly 3.0 million, up 17% from Nets/Bulls last year (2.5M), and up 26% from Magic/Pacers on ESPN in ’12 (2.4M).
The hot streak continued into the workweek. Monday’s Heat/Bobcats Game 4 drew 3.4 million viewers, up 30% from Bulls/Nets last year (2.6M), and up 35% from Spurs/Jazz in 2012 (2.5M). Spurs/Mavericks Game 4 drew 3.9 million later in the night, up 3% from Thunder/Rockets last year (3.8M), and up 18% from Grizzlies/Clippers in 2012 (3.3M).
Including last Thursday’s games, eight consecutive playoff games on TNT have had increases over last year, and seven of the last eight have had increases over 2012.
(Sat. numbers from TV By the Numbers; Sun./Mon. numbers from The Futon Critic [1], [2])
