ESPN attracted a record audience for the final game of the Lakers/Thunder first round series.
Game 6 of the Lakers/Thunder series drew a 3.1 U.S. rating and 4.8 million viewers on ESPN Friday night. The Lakers’ 95-94 win ranks as the most-viewed first round playoff game ever on ESPN.
Friday’s game is also tied as the highest rated first round game on cable this season; Thunder/Lakers Game 5 on TNT also drew a 3.1.
Impressively, the game drew a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49, making it the highest rated program of the night — on broadcast or cable — in the demographic.
Earlier on Friday, the penultimate game of the Hawks/Bucks series drew a 1.5 U.S. rating and 2.2 million viewers, down 17% in ratings and 14% in viewership from Hawks/Heat Game 6 last year (1.8, 2.6 mil), and down 25% and 26%, respectively, from Celtics/Hawks Game 6 in ’08 (2.0, 2.9 mil).
Meanwhile, Game 6 of the Nuggets/Jazz series drew a 0.9 and 1.5 million viewers on ESPN2. There was no comparable game last year.
Overall, ESPN averaged a 2.0 U.S. rating and 3.0 million viewers for the first round of the NBA Playoffs (9 games), up 11% and 19%, respectively, from last year (1.8, 2.6 mil).
10 Highest Rated Games of the 2010 NBA Playoffs (through Friday)
| # | Date | Game | # | Net | Rating | Viewers (000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun., 4/25/10 |
Cavaliers 121, Bulls 98 | 4 | ABC |
3.7
|
5,704
|
| 2 | Sun., 4/18/10 |
Thunder 79, Lakers 87 | 1 | ABC |
3.3
|
5,132
|
| T3 | Fri., 4/30/10 |
Lakers 95, Thunder 94 | 6 | ESPN |
3.1
|
4,833
|
| T3 | Tue., 4/27/10 |
Thunder 87, Lakers 111 | 5 | TNT |
3.1
|
4,685
|
| 5 | Tue., 4/27/10 |
Bulls 94, Cavaliers 96 | 5 | TNT |
2.8
|
4,244
|
| 6 | Sat., 4/24/10 |
Lakers 89, Thunder 110 | 4 | ESPN |
2.7
|
4,163
|
| T7 | Sun., 4/25/10 |
Celtics 92, Heat 101 | 4 | ABC |
2.6
|
3,913
|
| T7 | Mon., 4/19/10 |
Bulls 102, Cavaliers 112 | 2 | TNT |
2.6
|
3,907
|
| T9 | Thu., 4/22/10 |
Lakers 96, Thunder 101 | 3 | TNT |
2.5
|
3,934
|
| T9 | Sun., 4/18/10 |
Spurs 94, Mavericks 100 | 1 | TNT |
2.5
|
3,925
|
| T9 | Sat., 4/17/10 |
Heat 76, Celtics 85 | 1 | ESPN |
2.5
|
3,821
|
| T9 | Tue., 4/20/10 |
Thunder 92, Lakers 95 | 2 | TNT |
2.5
|
3,741
|
| T9 | Sat., 4/17/10 |
Bulls 83, Cavaliers 96 | 1 | ABC |
2.5
|
3,679
|
(ESPN, pifeedback.com)
