The second season of ABC’s NBA Saturday Primetime opened on a softer note.
Spurs/Cavaliers scored a 2.6 overnight rating in the season premiere of ABC’s NBA Saturday Primetime, down 10% from Bulls/Cavaliers last year (2.9). Compared to last year’s Saturday Primetime game between the teams, which took place one week later in the season, overnights inched up from a 2.5.
The Spurs’ overtime win, which peaked at a 4.0 from 11-11:15 PM ET, ranks as the highest rated non-Christmas game on ESPN/ABC this season.
The 2.6 overnight is tied as the fourth-highest for NBA Saturday Primetime (nine telecasts dating back to last season) behind the previously mentioned Bulls/Cavaliers game, Warriors/Spurs in March of last year (3.7) and Warriors/Thunder the previous month (3.9).
Saturday’s game scored a 13.9 rating in San Antonio, the market’s highest of the season for any Spurs game. It had a 12.2 rating in Cleveland, the market’s second-highest rated game this season.
(Sat. numbers from ESPN Media Zone 1/22)
