Cavs-Celtics ratings hit another multi-year high Wednesday, though better numbers could have been expected.
Wednesday’s Cavaliers-Celtics NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 earned a 4.5 rating and 7.35 million viewers on ESPN, up 29% in ratings and 26% in viewership from the same matchup on TNT last year (3.5, 5.8M) and up 32% and 34% respectively from Raptors-Cavs in 2016 (3.4, 5.5M).
ESPN’s conference final last season, Warriors-Spurs, ended in a sweep.
The Celtics’ humdrum win was the most-watched Game 5 of the East Finals since 2013 (Pacers-Heat: 8.5M) and the highest rated since 2014 (Heat-Pacers: 4.7). Four of the series’ five games have hit multi-year highs.
Even so, better numbers could have been expected given the circumstances. Wednesday’s game was the tenth conference final Game 5 LeBron James has played in his career, and it ranked just sixth in ratings and fifth in viewership out of those games.
Cavs-Celtics scored a 2.7 rating in adults 18-49 (+23%) and a 2.5 in adults 18-34 (+25%). It was the night’s top program in both demos, pounding “Empire” on FOX (1.7; 1.2) and “Survivor” on CBS (1.4; 0.9).
Game 5 had a 21.3 rating in Cleveland and a 14.4 in Boston. Secondary markets Columbus, Ohio (11.0) and Providence, R.I. (9.9) ranked third and fourth. New Orleans was the top neutral market with a fifth-place 8.9.
[Numbers from Nielsen via Programming insider 5.24; ESPN PR 5.24]
