With Cavaliers F LeBron James rumored to be heading to the Miami Heat, here is a look at how the Cavaliers and Heat have done in the ratings locally over the past several years.
Miami and Cleveland are almost equal in terms of TV market size. Currently, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale is the nation’s #17 TV market (1.538 million homes) and Cleveland-Akron is #18 (1.521 million).
During the 2009-10 NBA season, Cavaliers games on FSN Ohio averaged an 8.6 rating (131,000 HHs) and Heat games on Sun Sports averaged a 2.5 (38,000 HHs). Keep in mind that the Cavaliers won 14 more games than the Heat and finished with the league’s best record.
The previous year, Cavaliers games averaged an 8.8 (134,000 HHs) and Heat games averaged a 2.7 (41,000 HHs). The Cavaliers also topped the Heat during the 2007-08 season (3.9 to 2.0) and the 2006-07 season (4.8 to 3.5). Ratings during the 2005-06 season, when the Heat won the NBA championship, were not available.
When the Heat won the NBA Finals in 2006, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale was the nation’s #17 TV market (1.523 million homes) — behind Cleveland, which was #16 (1.542 mil). The six-game Heat/Mavericks series averaged a 27.1 rating in the market (appx. 413,000 HHs).
The very next year, the Cavaliers made the NBA Finals. At the time, Cleveland was the #17 market (1.538 million homes) and Miami was #16 (1.539 mil). The Cavaliers’ four-game loss to the Spurs averaged a 31.2 rating (appx. 480,000 HHs).
In other words, the 2007 NBA Finals averaged a higher rating and more homes in Cleveland than the 2006 NBA Finals did in Miami.
Keep in mind that the Cavaliers were blown out in an ugly sweep in 2007 — a series that averaged record low ratings nationally. By contrast, the Heat won the Finals in 2006, in a fairly close series that averaged the highest rating nationally for any non-Laker NBA Finals since ’99.
(2006-07 and 2007-08 ratings from Sports Business Daily; 2008-09 ratings from Sports Business Journal; 2009-10 ratings from Sports Business Journal)
