Though off last year’s record pace, the Boston Bruins rank among the NHL’s highest rated teams this season. In other news, NBA TV earned one of its best regular season audiences on Tuesday, and ESPN and TNT both had double-digit declines for NBA doubleheaders.
Bruins Ratings Strong Despite Decline
- Boston Bruins NHL regular season games have averaged a 4.6 rating on NESN through 13 games, down 12% from a 5.2 at the comparable point last year. Keep in mind last season was the highest rated ever on NESN. The Bruins are averaging the second-highest local rating in the NHL, trailing only the Penguins on Root Sports. (NESN)
Cavaliers Boost NBA TV to Near Record
- Tuesday’s Cavaliers/Blazers NBA game drew 836,000 viewers on NBA TV, the network’s third-largest regular season audience. Only Heat/Pacers last December (920K) and Lakers/Blazers in November 2012 (868K) drew more viewers. Keep in mind the NBA TV telecast was blacked out in the home markets; local coverage on Fox Sports Ohio drew a 7.6 rating in Cleveland. (Turner Sports, Awful Announcing)
Double-Digit Declines For NBA on ESPN, TNT
- ESPN earned 1.7 million viewers for the Clippers/Warriors game Wednesday night, down 23% from Mavericks/Thunder last year (2.1M) but up 24% from Spurs/Clippers in 2012 (1.3M). Pacers/Wizards drew 1.4 million earlier in the night, down 30% from Bulls/Pacers last year (2.0M) but up 28% from Sixers/New Orleans in 2012 (1.1M). Shifting to Thursday, TNT drew 1.5 million for Spurs/Rockets (-38%) and 1.4 million for Mavericks/Blazers (-40%), with the caveat that last year’s games featured the Heat and Lakers. (TV By the Numbers [1], [2])
