With the Celtics making things interesting, at least by the standards of a particularly tedious postseason, viewership is picking up for the East Finals.
Tuesday’s Celtics-Cavaliers NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 earned a 4.3 final rating and 7.0 million viewers on TNT, up 10% in ratings and 15% from Cavaliers-Raptors on ESPN last year (3.9, 6.1M) and up 8% and 12% respectively from Hawks-Cavaliers on TNT in 2015 (4.0, 6.3M).
Compared to last year’s conference final on TNT, ratings fell 20% from 5.4 and viewership 18% from 8.6 million for Warriors-Thunder Game 4.
The Cavaliers’ comeback win was the most-watched Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals since Heat-Pacers in 2013 (8.1M), edging Pacers-Heat in 2014 (7.05M to 7.04M). It was the first game in the series to record a multi-year high. It also delivered the largest audience of the playoffs on cable, topping Game 3 on Sunday (6.997M).
Game 4 had a 2.8 rating in adults 18-49, up 12% from last year’s East Finals (2.5) but down 22% from last year’s WCF on TNT (3.6). It was the night’s top television program in the demo, comfortably topping the season finale of NBC’s The Voice (1.9). The NBA has at least tied the day’s top rating in the demo 24 times in 37 days this postseason.
In adults 18-34, the game delivered a 2.5 rating — up 9% from last year’s ECF (2.3) but down 29% from last year’s WCF (3.5).
** CORRECTION 5.26: Post originally reported 7.1 million viewers for Game 4. That was a mistake based on misreading the audience of 7.017 million as 7.071 million. As a result of that error, the post originally reported that the game was the most-watched ECF Game 3 in four years, instead of three.
** UPDATE 6.2: Updated Nielsen figures put viewership at 7.047 million, meaning the game did in fact hit a four-year high.
(Tue. numbers via Programming Insider 5.24)
