The Heat's 27% decline in local TV ratings on Sun Sports is "about what was expected in the first season" since F LeBron James' departure, but RSN officials are "ecstatic that they have not only kept but actually gained in the most coveted demographic of young viewers," according to Craig Davis of the South Florida SUN-SENTINEL. Sun Sports is drawing a 3.6 local rating among males 18-34 for Heat games, "up from 3.4 last season," despite the sharp decline in overall game ratings "from last season's 6.85 to 4.95." The Heat's local rating still "ranks fourth among all NBA teams" -- behind the Spurs (8.08), Cavaliers (7.29) and Thunder (6.38) -- after "being third each of the previous two seasons." To put the team's 27% drop into perspective, ratings for Cavaliers games on FS Ohio the season after James left for the Heat declined 54%. Davis: "What is now apparent is that the Heat have built a loyal following with a generation that has never experienced the Miami Dolphins as more than a mediocrity, and even the Miami Hurricanes' more recent glorious past is a faded memory." That young Heat audience "has remained loyal since the departure of James" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 3/31).
