Indianapolis drew a 21.6 rating for Cavs-Pacers Game 7, the best first-round game ever in the marketNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Cavaliers-Pacers Game 7 delivered a 5.4 overnight rating on ABC yesterday afternoon, marking the best first-round playoff game in 14 years. That superlative dates back to a 5.8 overnight for Lakers-Rockets Game 4 on ABC in '04. Yesterday's game peaked at a 7.4 rating from 3:00-3:45pm ET. The game drew a 24.6 local rating in Cleveland-Akron, which is the market's best figure for a first-round game since '10. Indianapolis drew a 21.6 local rating, marking the best first-round game ever in the market. Meanwhile, ESPN drew a 2.9 overnight for Cavs-Pacers Game 6 on Friday night, marking the net's best figure during the fist round for '18. Cleveland-Akron drew a 12.3 local rating and Indianapolis drew an 11.9. Both figures are ESPN's best NBA first-round rating in the respective markets on record. The strong Cavs-Pacers numbers will likely propel the NBA first round to a viewership gain when numbers come out later this week (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
SHE'S GOT GAME: In N.Y., Noam Scheiber profiled ESPN NBA commentator Doris Burke, noting she has been described as "one of the game's top analysts." Yet despite the "respect of her peers and her legions of fans," Burke gives off the vibe of someone who "feels in a precarious position, ever conscious of the skepticism toward women in a male-dominated profession." All of this is "coming to a head as a deadline looms." Burke, whose contract ends Oct. 31, said it is "very anxiety-producing." Scheiber noted ESPN has "yet to open serious discussions about renewing." Burke: “The older I’ve gotten, the more I have paid attention to disparities, or what I consider to be different treatment." Scheiber wrote Burke "might be treated differently" from Mark Jackson or Jeff Van Gundy, ESPN's other top NBA analysts. Burke: "The reason I’m fiendishly drawing end-of-game plays when I’m taking notes is what if I screwed up something down the stretch of a game? How might that be interpreted relative to if Jeff or Mark, who both coached the game, did the same thing? ... I do worry about that" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/29).
