The NBA Playoffs have been a mixed bag for the league’s cable television partners.
ESPN averaged a 2.5 U.S. rating and 3.9 million viewers for fifteen NBA Playoff games through Wednesday, flat in ratings and up 2% in viewership from last year (2.5, 3.8 mil).
The network has aired the two highest rated, most-viewed games of the postseason, including Cavaliers/Celtics Game 6 on May 13 — which ranks as the most-viewed second round game ever on cable with just under 9 million viewers.
Meanwhile, corporate sibling ABC is averaging a 3.4 and 5.3 million viewers, up 6% and 7%, respectively, from last year.
On the other end of the spectrum lies TNT. Because the network airs far more playoff games than ESPN or ABC, it has also been far more susceptible to the sweeps that took place during the second round.
Through Wednesday, TNT averaged a 2.5 and 3.8 million viewers for its 35 playoff games, down 7% and 6%, respectively, from last year’s 2.7 and 4.1 million. Last year, TNT aired two Game 7s — Bulls/Celtics (the most-viewed first round game ever on cable) and Magic/Celtics (at the time, the most-viewed second round game ever on cable).
