A stirring first round of the NBA Playoffs has generated big increases on ESPN over the weekend.
Game 4 of the Thunder/Grizzlies first round NBA playoff series earned 4.6 million viewers on ESPN Saturday night, up 42% from Thunder/Rockets last year (3.3M), and up 107% from Spurs/Jazz on TNT in 2012 (2.2M). The game ranks as the second-most viewed of the playoffs on cable (29 telecasts through Monday), trailing only Rockets/Blazers Game 4 the following night (4.7M).
Earlier in the night, Game 3 between the Heat and Bobcats drew 3.4 million — up 74% from Pacers/Hawks last year (2.0M), and up 1% from Thunder/Mavericks on TNT in 2012 (3.43M to 3.39M).
Shifting to Friday night’s action, Game 3 between the Rockets and Blazers drew 3.6 million viewers — up 26% from Spurs/Lakers last year (2.9M), and up 1% from Lakers/Nuggets in 2012 (3.63M to 3.59M).
Both of Friday’s early games had declines. Bulls/Wizards Game 3 drew 2.8 million on ESPN, down 4% from Knicks/Celtics last year (2.9M) and down 3% from Hawks/Celtics in 2012 (2.9M), neither of which aired opposite another playoff game. Raptors/Nets Game 3 scored 1.3 million on ESPN2 — down 9% from Nuggets/Warriors in a later window last year (1.4M), but up 18% from Bulls/Sixers in 2012 (1.1M).
