The Warriors flirted with disaster just long enough to deliver record-breaking numbers for TNT.
Game 7 of the Thunder/Warriors NBA Western Conference Finals had an 11.2 overnight rating on TNT Monday night, up 30% from Pacers/Heat in 2013 (8.6) and up 23% from Celtics/Heat on ESPN in 2012, which aired on a Saturday night (9.1).
The Warriors’ series-clinching win, which peaked at a 13.8 from 11:15-11:30 PM ET, delivered the highest overnight ever for an NBA game on cable television. Celtics/Heat Game 7 in ’12 previously held the top spot. The Warriors/Thunder series now accounts for three of the ten highest NBA overnights ever on cable.
Beyond the NBA, the 11.2 is the third-highest in cable history for a non-football sporting event, behind a pair of NCAA Tournament games — Wisconsin/Kentucky in the 2015 Final Four (13.3) and this year’s Villanova/North Carolina national championship (12.0). Both of those events aired on three networks, TBS, TNT and TruTV.
Monday’s game also delivered the highest overnight for any NBA telecast outside of the NBA Finals since Game 7 of Lakers/Kings in 2002, which earned a 16.9 on NBC.
The Bay Area led all markets for Game 7 with a 30.9 rating, the market’s highest ever an NBA game on TNT. Oklahoma City ranked second with a 30.0. The last time the Thunder franchise played a Game 7 of the conference finals, the Seattle market delivered a 33.9 for Jazz/Sonics in 1996. Cleveland (20.7), Sacramento (19.2) and Tulsa (15.5) rounded out the top five.
Game 7 earned the second-highest overnight for any sporting event since the Super Bowl, behind the previously mentioned Villanova/UNC college basketball championship and ahead of the Kentucky Derby (9.3), the final round of The Masters (8.5), the Daytona 500 (6.1), and both Final Four semifinals — North Carolina/Syracuse (8.1) and Villanova/Oklahoma (7.1).
(Mon. numbers from Turner Sports)
