It did not live up to the billing, but Cavaliers-Celtics delivered strong numbers on ESPN nonetheless. In other news, Fox Sports 1 began its Major League Baseball coverage on a much stronger note, and the Indians and Mets both posted some early season highs.
Cavs-Celtics Up Big on ESPN
- Cavaliers-Celtics earned a 1.4 final rating and 2.1 million viewers on ESPN’s NBA Wednesday last night, up 100% in ratings and 107% in viewership from Cavaliers-Pacers last year, which LeBron James missed for rest (0.7, 1.0M), and up 180% and 190% respectively from Celtics-Pistons in 2015 (0.5, 740K). The Cavs’ rout was the sixth-most watched NBA game on cable this season, not counting Warriors games, with three of their matchups with the Celtics ranking among the top six. The Mavericks-Clippers nightcap had a 0.9 (-10%) and 1.3 million (-12%).
FS1 Opens MLB Season With Big Jump
- Yankees-Rays earned 578,000 viewers in Fox Sports 1’s MLB season debut Wednesday night, up 56% from the network’s Rangers-Angels opener last year (371K) and up 11% from its Red Sox-Yankees opener in 2015 (521K). Last year’s game aired on a Thursday night; the 2015 game aired on a Saturday afternoon. The Rays’ win ranks as the most-watched MLB opener on FS1 (dates back to 2014).
High Local Ratings For Indians, Mets
- Monday’s Rangers-Indians MLB Opening Day game had a 10.19 rating on Sportstime Ohio in Cleveland, the market’s highest for an Indians opener since 2012. Ratings were even higher the following night, an 11.49. In other action, Tuesday’s Braves-Mets game had a 4.7 rating and 470,000 viewers on SNY in New York, the network’s highest rated Mets game since 2009 and most-watched since 2008.
(Numbers via Programming Insider 4.6, Crain’s Cleveland Business 4.5, SNY)
