ESPN earned good numbers for the second game of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Game 2 of the Heat/Pacers NBA Eastern Conference Finals earned 7.5 million viewers on ESPN Tuesday night, up 63% from Grizzlies/Spurs last year (4.6M) and down 14% from Celtics/Heat in 2012 (8.8M). Game 2 of last year’s Pacers/Heat series, which aired on a Friday night, earned 7.0 million viewers on TNT.
Tuesday’s game earned the largest audience of the playoffs on cable, easily topping the previous mark of 6.4 million for Thunder/Clippers Game 6 in the second round. It also had the fifth-largest audience for Game 2 of a conference final since the current NBA TV deal began in the 2002-03 season (23 telecasts).
Viewership for Sunday’s Game 1 on ABC was not immediately available.
Game 2 earned a 3.2 rating among adults 18-49, making it the #2 program of the night on all of television. Only NBC’s The Voice earned a larger rating in the demo (3.3).
ESPN was already on a faster pace entering the conference finals. The network averaged a 2.6 U.S. rating and 4.1 million viewers through the first two rounds of the playoffs, up a tick in ratings and 5% in viewership from last year (2.5, 3.9M).
(Tue. numbers from TV By the Numbers)
