While the NBA on ABC struggled overall this season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the few highlights. They were involved in five of the six games this season that drew a rating over a 2.0, so ESPN had to have high hopes for the Cavs-Celtics series, which started this past Sunday on ABC.
Game 1 between the Cavs and Celtics ended up pulling a 4.5 overnight, which was good for the third-highest overnight ever for the Game 1 first round matchup. Sure, that’s a pretty narrow sample (you’re looking a total of eight games each year, with most of those on cable), but it’s still noteworthy, given the struggles of the NBA on ABC this season. The game was also up from the comparable first round Game 1 game a year ago, which was a Heat-Bobcats clash that drew a 4.0 rating.
In Cleveland, Cavs mania is still in full effect. Game 1 drew a 20.9 overnight, good for the fourth-highest first round game in the market (regardless of what game in the series it was). Similarly, the game drew a 7.5 in Boston, which was also the fourth-highest rated first round game in the market.
The rating is encouraging news, considering this series wasn’t expected to be all that close. The Celtics put up one hell of a fight, resulting in a pretty entertaining game overall. Games 2 and 3 will be on TNT this week, while Game 4 will be on ABC once again next Sunday. I’d be interested in seeing what the ratings look like next weekend if the Celtics are able to take one of the next two games, but it’ll be going head to head with a pretty solid looking Red Sox-Orioles matchup in Baltimore at the same timeslot.
[ESPN]
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