Facing some hefty competition on broadcast, Game 4 of the Heat/Bulls series slipped under ten million viewers Tuesday night.
Tuesday’s overtime Game 4 between the Bulls and Heat drew a 6.1 U.S. rating and 9.770 million viewers on TNT, up 25% in ratings and 28% in viewership from last year (LAL/PHX G4: 4.9, 7.641M), but down 3% in both measures compared to 2009 (CLE/ORL G4: 6.3, 10.075M).
This is the first time any game of Heat/Bulls has failed to match the comparable game of the 2009 Magic/Cavaliers series.
Game 4 ranks as the least-viewed of the series. Games 1, 2 and 3 each scored over ten million viewers, topped by 11.109 million for Game 1.
The series-low can partly be explained by some major competition on the broadcast networks. ABC and FOX alone averaged a combined 30 million viewers in the 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM hours, thanks to various combinations of American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and Glee.
Though the least-viewed game of the series, Game 4 still ranks as the seventh-most viewed NBA game ever on cable, and the sixth-most viewed playoff game. The Heat/Bulls series accounts for four of the seven top NBA audiences ever on cable, along with the 2003 NBA All-Star Game and Games 4 and 5 of Magic/Cavaliers in 2009.
LeBron James has now played in the six most-viewed playoff games ever on cable.
Through Game 4, the Eastern Conference Finals is averaging a 6.2 U.S. rating and 10.414 million viewers on TNT, up 32% in ratings and 38% in viewership from last year, and up 19% and 25%, respectively, from 2009.
Compared to the first four games of Lakers/Kings in 2002, which still ranks as the most-viewed conference final of the past ten seasons, this year’s series is up 16% in households (7.2M to 6.2M) and 21% in viewership (10.4M to 8.6M).
Most-Viewed NBA Games Ever on Cable
|
#
|
Date
|
Game
|
Round, Game #
|
Net
|
Rating
|
Viewers (000)
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Sun., 5/15/11 | MIA 83, CHI 102 | ECF, G1 | TNT |
6.2
|
11,109
|
|
2
|
Sun., 5/22/11 | CHI 85, MIA 96 | ECF, G3 | TNT |
6.4
|
10,889
|
|
3
|
Sun., 2/9/03 | WEST 155, EAST 145 | All-Star | TNT |
6.6
|
10,829
|
|
4
|
Tue., 5/26/09 | CLE 114, ORL 116 | ECF, G4 | TNT |
6.3
|
10,075
|
|
5
|
Wed., 5/18/11 | MIA 85, CHI 75 | ECF, G2 | TNT |
6.1
|
10,036
|
|
6
|
Thu., 5/28/09 | ORL 102, CLE 112 | ECF, G5 | TNT |
6.2
|
9,995
|
|
7
|
Tue., 5/24/11 | CHI 93, MIA 101 | ECF, G4 | TNT |
6.1
|
9,770
|
|
8
|
Mon., 5/25/09 | LAL 101, DEN 120 | WCF, G4 | ESPN |
5.8
|
9,731
|
|
9
|
Mon., 5/31/04 | MIN 90, LAL 96 | WCF, G6 | TNT |
6.0
|
9,438
|
|
10
|
Wed., 5/27/09 | DEN 94, LAL 103 | WCF, G5 | ESPN |
5.6
|
9,238
|
UPDATED 5/27/11: The viewership for Game 4 was 9.770 million viewers, not the 9.777 million viewers previously reported here.
(This year’s numbers from Turner Sports; viewership for American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Glee, from TV By the Numbers)
