Schadenfreude-seekers in the Cleveland area tuned into Tuesday’s Heat/Celtics NBA season opener in big numbers.
Miami’s season-opening loss to the Celtics, featuring the debut of the team’s Big Three of Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and former Cavalier LeBron James, drew a 10.6 rating in the Cleveland market Tuesday night.
The 10.6 tops the average rating for Cavalier games on TNT, ESPN, ABC and FS Ohio last season (10.5*).
Moving to the home markets, Tuesday’s opener drew a 17.1 rating in Boston — up 106% from last year’s Celtics/Cavaliers Opening Night game on TNT (8.3).
In Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, the game drew a 15.5 rating — down from the 20.0 last year’s Cavaliers/Celtics opener drew in Cleveland. Keep in mind that the Miami and Cleveland television markets are nearly the same size (1.58 million homes in Miami to 1.53 million in Cleveland).
Elsewhere on opening night, Tuesday’s Rockets/Lakers game drew a 9.7 rating in Los Angeles, up 57% from last year’s Clippers/Lakers game (6.2), which of course featured two L.A. teams. In Houston, the game drew a 7.4 rating.
For the national ratings for both Heat/Celtics and Rockets/Lakers, click here.
* Through 78 of 82 games.
(Turner Sports)
