An NBA Finals rematch delivered big numbers on ABC Christmas Day.
The Cavaliers/Warriors NBA regular season game earned a 6.7 overnight rating on ABC Christmas Day, up 22% from Cavaliers/Heat last year (5.5), up 37% from Heat/Lakers in 2013 (4.9), and the highest overnight for an NBA regular season game in five years — since Heat/Lakers on Christmas 2010 (7.1).
Going back further, the Warriors’ win earned the NBA’s fifth-highest regular season overnight since Bulls/Knicks in March 1998 (8.0) — trailing only Heat/Lakers in 2004 (7.9) and Heat/Lakers in 2010 (7.1), which also aired on Christmas Day, and Rockets/Lakers (7.7) and Jazz/Lakers (7.1) during the 1998-99 lockout season.
Overnights peaked at a 7.9 from 7:30-7:45 PM ET. Locally, the game had a 21.2 rating in Cleveland a 16.0 in the Bay Area, both the highest on record for a regular season game in the respective markets (dates back to 2003).
Bulls/Thunder scored a 4.0 overnight earlier in the day, matching Thunder/Spurs last year (4.0) and up 8% from Thunder/Knicks in 2013 (3.7). The 4.0 is tied as the second-lowest for a Christmas Day game on ABC since 2009, matching last year and ahead of only 2013.
The Bulls’ win, which peaked at a 5.1 from 4:45-5 PM ET, had a 12.1 in Oklahoma City and an 8.4 in Chicago.
Shifting to cable, ESPN drew a 2.3 overnight for Pelicans/Heat in the Noon ET window — up 10% from Wizards/Knicks last year (2.1) and even with Bulls/Nets in 2013 (2.3). ESPN’s telecast had a 5.3 rating in New Orleans and a 4.1 in Miami; coverage was also available on local RSNs.
Spurs/Rockets and Clippers/Lakers had overnights of 2.5 and 2.2, respectively, in primetime. Overnights for last year’s Lakers/Bulls and Warriors/Clippers games on TNT were not immediately available. The early game had a 6.9 in San Antonio and a 3.8 in Houston, while the late window drew a 4.2 in Los Angeles.
(Fri. numbers via ESPN/NBA)
