NBA Playoff telecasts led all sports telecasts last week. ABC's Sunday NBA doubleheader topped broadcast TV sports for the weekend with Celtics-Knicks Game Four (7.0 million viewers) and Heat-76ers Game Four (5.0 million viewers). NBA games also took each of the top 10 spots for the most-viewed sports telecasts on cable TV last week, with TNTs Lakers-Hornets Game Four leading the way with 6.3 million viewers. NBC averaged 1.6 million viewers for Sunday's Flyers-Sabres NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Game Six, marking the most-viewed NHL non-Conference Final game in 12 years. The net also averaged 1.6 million viewers for the Capitals-Rangers Game Five from Saturday (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
| TELECAST | DATE | NET | TIME (ET) | RAT. | VIEWERS (000) |
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Celtics-Knicks: Game Four | 4/24 | ABC | 3:41-6:30pm | 4.3 | 7,020 |
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Heat-76ers: Game Four | 4/24 | ABC | 12:53-3:41pm | 3.1 | 5,025 |
| PGA Tour: The Heritage: Final Round | 4/24 | CBS | 3:15-6:30pm | 1.9 | 2,960 |
| MLB: (regional) | 4/23 | Fox | 4:09-7:19pm | 1.8 | 2,794 |
NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals:
Flyers-Sabres: Game Six | 4/24 | NBC | 3:00-6:32pm | 1.4 | 2,567 |
| PGA Tour: The Heritage: Third Round | 4/23 | CBS | 3:00-6:00pm | 1.3 | 1,801 |
NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals:
Capitals-Rangers: Game Five | 4/23 | NBC | 3:00-6:00pm | 1.0 | 1,553 |
| "NBA Countdown" | 4/24 | ABC | 12:30-12:56pm | 0.8 | n/a |
National Heads-Up Poker Championship
(taped) | 4/24 | NBC | 12:00-2:00pm | 0.7 | 990 |
Champions Tour: Liberty Mutual
Legends of Golf: Final Round | 4/24 | CBS | 1:00-3:15pm | 0.6 | 856 |
Champions Tour: Liberty Mutual
Legends of Golf: Third Round | 4/23 | CBS | 1:00-3:00pm | 0.5 | 639 |
| "ESPN Sports Saturday" | 4/23 | ABC | 4:00-6:00pm | 0.5 | n/a |
| Laureus Sports Awards (taped) | 4/24 | NBC | 2:00-3:00pm | 0.4 | 492 |
| TELECAST | DATE | NET | TIME (ET) | RAT. | VIEWERS (000) |
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Lakers-Hornets: Game Four | 4/24 | TNT | 9:47pm-12:36am | 3.9 | 6,281 |
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Lakers-Hornets: Game Two | 4/20 | TNT | 10:45pm-1:29am | 3.4 | 5,352 |
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Bulls-Pacers: Game Two | 4/18 | TNT | 9:39pm-12:32am | 3.2 | 4,908 |
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Knicks-Celtics: Game Two | 4/19 | TNT | 7:09-9:47pm | 3.0 | 4,730 |
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Lakers-Hornets: Game Three | 4/22 | ESPN | 9:39pm-12:11am | 2.8 | 4,578 |
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Magic-Hawks: Game Four | 4/24 | TNT | 7:09-9:47pm | 2.7 | 4,506 |
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Heat-76ers: Game Three | 4/21 | TNT | 8:09-10:44pm | 2.5 | 3,875 |
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Mavericks-Trail Blazers: Game Two | 4/19 | TNT | 9:47pm-12:12am | 2.5 | 3,846 |
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Thunder-Nuggets: Game Three | 4/23 | ESPN | 10:19pm-1:07am | 2.4 | 3,664 |
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Bulls-Pacers: Game Four | 4/23 | TNT | 2:38-5:22pm | 2.2 | 3,534 |
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SKATING AT FULL STRENGTH: Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia averaged a 12.6 local rating and 383,000 HHs in the Philadelphia market for Flyers-Sabres Game Seven, marking the most-watched Flyers game in the channel's history. The previous record was set by Game Seven of last year's Flyers-Bruins Eastern Conference Semifinal. CSN Philadelphia through the first round is averaging a 7.8 local rating for its Flyers playoff coverage, up 47% from last year (CSN). NESN earned a 17.7 local rating in Boston on Wednesday night for Bruins-Canadiens Game Seven, marking a Bruins single-game ratings record on the net. NESN's seven telecasts for the series averaged an 11.9 local rating, marking the net's highest-rated Bruins playoff series ever (NESN). Sun Sports earned a 4.5 local rating in the Tampa-St. Pete market on Wednesday night for Lightning-Penguins Game Seven, marking the highest-rated Lightning playoff game on the net in eight years (TAMPABAY.com, 4/29).
SUPER TUESDAY: CSN Chicago earned its highest-ever local rating in the Chicago market on Tuesday, when it aired Game Five of the Bulls-Pacers First Round series, Game Seven of the Canucks-Blackhawks Western Conference Quarterfinal series and White Sox-Yankees on CSN+. Canucks-Blackhawks earned a 13.3 local rating, the net's highest-ever Blackhawks rating, exceeding the record set by Game Six of the series last Sunday. Bulls-Pacers earned a 10.9 local rating, the net's second-highest Bulls rating ever, behind a 13.7 rating for Game Three of the series (CSN). CSN Chicago averaged around 467,000 HHs for the Blackhawks telecast and 383,000 HHs for the Bulls telecast (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/28).
LOVING THEIR GAMES: TNT through Tuesday was delivering the most-watched and highest-rated NBA playoffs in league history on cable. The net also was delivering double-digit growth in affluent viewers with a household income of $100K+ or $125K+ across adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. The growth for both affluent categories is the most of any pro sports league for the playoffs or regular season. Additionally, NBA TV's Grizzlies-Spurs Game Five on Wednesday night averaged 835,000 viewers, marking the net's most-viewed program this season. By comparison, the net's viewership for the non-exclusive coverage of Grizzlies-Spurs was up 131% over ESPN's non-exclusive coverage of A's-Angels on the same night (THE DAILY).
