For the second time in just over a week, the Miami Heat winning streak gave ESPN one of its largest regular season NBA audiences.
ESPN drew 3.9 million viewers for the Heat/Bulls NBA regular season game Wednesday night, up 182% from Magic/Knicks last year (1.4M), and up 101% from Magic/Knicks in 2011 (1.9M). The game marked the end of Miami’s 27-game winning streak.
Heat/Bulls earned the fifth-largest NBA regular season audience on ESPN since the network resumed airing games in 2002. The March 19 Heat/Celtics game, win #23 of the streak, ranks sixth with 3.8 million viewers.
Eight of the 20 most-viewed regular season games on ESPN have involved the Heat, the most appearances in the top 20 of any single team.
Wednesday’s game also ranks as the third-most viewed telecast of the season on cable, trailing only TNT’s Opening Night doubleheader of Celtics/Heat (5.4M) and Mavericks/Lakers (4.3M).
Also Wednesday night, the Nets/Trail Blazers game drew 1.5 million viewers — down 15% from Spurs/Nuggets in 2011 (1.8M). There was no comparable game last year.
10 Most-Viewed NBA Regular Season Games on ESPN
Since reacquiring rights in 2002
| # | Date | Away | Home | Viewers |
Notes
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Fri., 1/17/03 | Lakers | Rockets |
4.9M
|
Shaq-Yao I
|
|
2
|
Sat., 12/25/04 | Pistons | Pacers |
4.3M
|
Christmas Day
|
|
3
|
Sun., 2/27/11 | Knicks | Heat |
4.2M
|
Opposite Oscars
|
|
4
|
Sat., 12/25/10 | Bulls | Knicks |
4.0M
|
Christmas Day
|
|
5
|
Wed., 3/27/13 | Heat | Bulls |
3.9M
|
Heat streak
|
|
6
|
Mon., 3/19/13 | Heat | Celtics |
3.8M
|
Heat streak
|
|
7
|
Fri., 10/29/10 | Magic | Heat |
3.8M
|
|
|
8
|
Tue., 12/25/12 | Celtics | Nets |
3.7M
|
Christmas Day
|
|
9
|
Wed., 2/20/08 | Lakers | Suns |
3.6M
|
|
|
10
|
Sun., 3/25/12 | Thunder | Heat |
3.5M
|
(Wed. numbers from The Futon Critic)
