The first game of the Eastern Conference Finals hit both a three-year high and a four-year low last week.
Game 1 of the Heat/Pacers NBA Eastern Conference Finals earned a 4.9 final rating and 7.8 million viewers on ABC, up 58% in ratings and 61% in viewership from Grizzlies/Spurs last year (3.1, 4.9M), but down 13% in both measures from Celtics/Heat on ESPN in 2012 (5.6, 9.0M). Last year’s Pacers/Heat Game 1 on TNT had a 5.3 and 8.2 million viewers.
Heat/Pacers Game 1 ranks as the highest rated and most-viewed non-finals playoff game on ABC since 2011, and the network’s third-best conference final telecast since acquiring rights to the league (12 telecasts). It also ranks as the highest rated and most-viewed game of the playoffs so far (through Wednesday’s games).
Three of the four most-viewed playoff games have aired on ABC — Heat/Pacers Game 1, Mavericks/Spurs Game 7 (6.5M) and Clippers/Warriors Game 4 (6.5M). The only exception was Tuesday’s Heat/Pacers Game 2 on ESPN (7.5M).
On the other hand, Sunday’s game also ranks as the lowest rated and least-viewed Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals since 2010, falling below Pacers/Heat last year, Celtics/Heat in 2012 and Heat/Bulls in 2011 (6.2, 11.1M). Overall, the game ranks as the fifth-least viewed conference final game to involve the Heat since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined the team in 2010 (21 telecasts).
Entering the NBA Finals, ABC has consistently trended ahead of last year. Five of the network’s nine playoff games had increases in ratings and six had increases in viewership.
Ratings/Viewership For 2014 NBA Playoffs on ABC
Entering the NBA Finals
| Date | Time | Game | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., 4/19 | 3:00 PM | Warriors/Clippers Game 1 |
2.8
|
-3%
|
4.36M
|
-1%
|
| Sun., 4/20 | 3:00 PM | Bobcats/Heat Game 1 |
3.3
|
-8% | 5.36M | -3% |
| Sun., 4/27 | 1:00 PM | Bulls/Wizards Game 4 | 2.9 | -12% | 4.32M | -11% |
| 3:30 PM | Clippers/Warriors Game 4 | 4.2 | +11% | 6.47M | +8% | |
| Sun., 5/4 | 1:00 PM | Nets/Raptors Game 7 | 3.1 | +3% | 4.79M | +12% |
| 3:30 PM | Mavs/Spurs Game 7 | 4.2 | +8% | 6.49M | +9% | |
| Sat., 5/10 | 8:15 PM | Heat/Nets Game 3 | 3.5 | even | 5.59M | +5% |
| Sun., 5/11 | 3:30 PM | Thunder/Clippers Game 4 | 3.8 | +12% | 5.99M | +12% |
| Sun., 5/18 | 3:30 PM | Heat/Pacers Game 1 | 4.9 | +58% | 7.82M | +61% |
(Sunday’s numbers from Sports Business Daily)
