ABC, TNT Deliver Strong Viewership Numbers For Christmas Day NBA Games

ABC averaged 7.69 million viewers for its Christmas Day NBA doubleheader, which featured Cavaliers F LeBron James’ return to Miami in a game against the Heat in the late afternoon window, as well as Thunder-Spurs in the early window. That average is up 19% from last year, when ABC featured Heat-Lakers in the late window and Thunder-Knicks in the early window. Cavaliers-Heat drew 9.3 million viewers, up 19% from Heat-Lakers, while the 6.0 million viewers for Thunder-Spurs was up 10%. ESPN also drew 3.05 million viewers for Wizards-Knicks in the early afternoon window, up 10% from Bulls-Nets last year. Meanwhile, TNT averaged 3.5 million viewers for its primetime doubleheader on Christmas, which featured Lakers-Bulls in the early window and Warriors-Clippers late. That figure marks the most-viewed cable TV Christmas primetime doubleheader on record. TNT last aired Christmas games in ’08. ESPN had the primetime window last year, averaging 3.04 million viewers (THE DAILY).