One of the highest profile NBA playoff series in recent memory opened with strong numbers on Sunday afternoon.
Game 1 between the Celtics and Heat earned a 7.0 overnight rating on ABC Sunday afternoon, up 46% from last year (UTA/LAL G1: 4.8), and up 84% from 2009 (DAL/DEN G1: 3.8).
Excluding the NBA Finals, the 7.0 overnight is the highest for any NBA playoff game on ABC since 2004 (LAL/SA G5: 7.2), and is tied as the third-highest overnight for any playoff game on the network.
For some perspective, last year’s Cavaliers/Celtics Game 6 drew a 7.1 overnight on ESPN, and Cavaliers/Celtics Game 7 in 2008 drew a 6.9 on ABC.
Despite the strong numbers, Sunday’s game did not even draw ABC’s top NBA overnight of the season. That honor goes to Heat/Lakers on Christmas Day, which drew a 7.3.
Earlier in the day, Game 1 between the Grizzlies and Thunder earned a 4.1 overnight rating, up 52% from last year (MIL/ATL G7: 2.7), and up 24% from 2009 (MIA/ATL G7: 3.3).
Grizzlies/Thunder actually drew a higher overnight than Heat/76ers Game 4 in the same timeslot a week earlier (4.0).
Keep in mind the Grizzlies/Thunder series features the second-and-third smallest TV markets in the NBA, Memphis (#48) and Oklahoma City (#45).
(Numbers from sportsbusinessdaily.com)
