A disappointing sequel to Cavaliers-Thunder was no match for the original, but still topped last year’s comparable game. Plus: Red Wings-Panthers neared a cable season-high; numbers for last weekend’s Collegiate Quad gymnastics meet and high school football All-American Game.
Cavs-Thunder rematch trails original, still up from last year
Thursday’s Cavaliers-Thunder NBA regular season game averaged a 0.7 rating and 1.36 million viewers across TNT and truTV, up a tick in ratings and 34% in viewership from Bulls-Raptors last year (0.6, 1.01M), but down 26% and 27% respectively from the teams’ prior meeting on ESPN eight days earlier (1.0, 1.87M).
After their first matchup was a tightly contested affair, Oklahoma City dominated a rematch in which they led by as many as 42.
The Rockets-Kings nightcap drew 981,000, up 12% from last year’s Grizzlies-Timberwolves nightcap (876K).
On ESPN Wednesday night, Knicks-Sixers averaged 1.22 million viewers — up 55% from Bucks-Cavaliers last year (786K). The Timberwolves-Warriors nightcap drew 1.15 million, down 42% from Mavericks-Lakers last year, which aired on ABC (1.99M). Last year’s games aired as part of an overlapping split network doubleheader.
ESPN’s Red Wings-Panthers nears cable season-high
ESPN averaged a 0.25 rating and 507,000 viewers for Thursday’s Red Wings-Panthers NHL regular season game, marking the largest NHL audience on cable — save for the Winter Classic — since Opening Night. The Oilers-Avalanche nightcap drew 389,000, the most-watched late game all season.
The previous night, TNT and truTV averaged 324,000 for Oilers-Wild and 259,000 for Hurricanes-Sabres in a rare early evening doubleheader. Both games increased over last year’s solo Red Wings-Panthers matchup (198K) and from doubleheader coverage in 2023 (227K).
Slight dip for college gymnastics on ABC
Session two of last weekend’s college gymnastics Collegiate Quad — featuring LSU, Cal, Oklahoma and Utah — averaged 618,000 viewers on ABC, down 3% from last year (634K). The telecast, which peaked with 720,000 viewers, still delivered the third-largest audience on record for a regular season college gymnastics meet. (Keep in mind it was just the third regular season meet to air on ABC.)
Session three drew 147,000 on ESPN2 Saturday night.
Five-year high for HS All-American Game
Last weekend’s high school football All-American Game averaged nearly 1.1 million viewers on NBC, up 6% from last year (1.0M) and the largest Nielsen-measured audience for the game since the January 2020 edition (1.13M). In a competitive early window, the game trailed Notre Dame-Duke men’s college basketball on ESPN (1.33M) but narrowly outdrew the competing Panthers-Bruins NHL game on ABC (1.05M).
