For the first time this NBA season, viewership increased for a game that did not feature the Cavaliers as a participant or as a lead-in. In other news, overnights increased by double-digits for North Carolina/Kentucky on CBS, and the Warriors hit an eighteen-year high in local television ratings last week.
Lakers/Spurs Scores Rare Increase For Non-Cavs Game
- Friday’s Lakers/Spurs NBA regular season game drew 2.2 million viewers on ESPN, up 24% from Rockets/Warriors last year (1.7M), up 69% from Grizzlies/Nuggets in 2012 (1.3M), and only the third non-Cavaliers game to have an increase this season. It was also the first such game to have an increase without benefiting from a Cavaliers lead-in. Blazers/Bulls drew 1.2 million earlier in the night, down 31% from Lakers/Thunder last year (1.8M) and down 15% from Celtics/Rockets in 2012 (1.4M). (via TV By the Numbers)
Double-Digit Rise For UNC/UK on CBS
- CBS earned a 1.7 overnight for the North Carolina/Kentucky college basketball game Saturday afternoon, up 13% from Arizona/Michigan last year (1.5) and up 89% from Arkansas/Michigan in 2012 (0.9). The game also improved significantly over the Wisconsin/Marquette season opener a week earlier (0.8). (via Sports Business Daily)
Warriors Earn Best Local Rating Since 1996
- Comcast SportsNet Bay Area earned a 6.43 rating for the Rockets/Warriors NBA game last Wednesday night, the highest rated Warriors regular season game on broadcast or cable since Bulls/Warriors in on CBS affiliate KPIX in February 1996 (11.3). Through last Wednesday, Warriors games have averaged a 3.53 rating on CSN Bay Area — up 9% from last year. (via csnbayarea.com)
