The much-hyped Warriors/Hawks game generated record numbers in Atlanta. In other news, ESPN’s pick of Clippers/Raptors over Warriors/Hawks resulted in low numbers, and undefeated Kentucky was the top college hoops draw of the weekend.
Warriors/Hawks Sets Record in Atlanta
- Friday’s Warriors/Hawks NBA regular season game, a matchup of the league’s top two teams, drew a 6.8 rating on SportSouth in the Atlanta market — the highest rating ever for any Hawks telecast on SportSouth or Fox Sports South. The previous high was a 4.8 for Pacers/Hawks Game 6 during last year’s playoffs. SportSouth has averaged a 2.0 for Hawks coverage so far this season (48 telecasts), up 82% from last year’s 1.1. (Fox Sports)
Fewer Than 1M For Clippers/Raptors on ESPN
- ESPN earned 984,000 viewers for Clippers/Raptors Friday night, down 23% from Blazers/Pacers last year (1.3M), down 49% from Clippers/Heat in 2013 (1.9M), and the third-smallest NBA audience of the season on national TV (excludes NBA TV). ESPN added Clippers/Raptors in place of a previously scheduled Knicks/Nets game, but missed out on Warriors/Hawks as a result. Later in the night, the Heat/Spurs NBA Finals rematch drew 1.2 million — down 5% from Wolves/Pelicans last year (1.3M) and down 17% from Bulls/Jazz in 2013 (1.5M). (via TV By the Numbers)
Kentucky/Florida Tops College Hoops Slate
- The Kentucky/Florida college basketball game drew a 2.0 overnight rating on ESPN Saturday night, the top such game of the weekend on any network. Last year’s comparable Gonzaga/Memphis overnight was not available, but it had a paltry 0.5 final rating. Notre Dame/Duke on CBS and Louisville/Virginia on ESPN ranked a distant second for the weekend, with a 1.3. FOX drew a 0.5 and 0.7 for its two games — Georgetown/Villanova and Arizona/Arizona State, respectively. (via ShowBuzz Daily)
