Thunder-Heat Showdown Delivers ESPN's Highest-Rated NBA Game of the Season
Local Ratings Surge in Oklahoma City, Miami, New York; Record Rating in Tulsa
Best NBA Game on WatchESPN this Season
Wednesday's 2012 NBA Finals rematch - the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the defending NBA Champion Miami Heat, 112-95, behind Kevin Durant's 33-point performance - delivered a 2.7 overnight rating, according to Nielsen. This is the highest-rated NBA game on ESPN during the 2013-14 season. The telecast was up 93 percent from last year's comparable game (Miami Heat at Brooklyn Nets, 1.4).
In addition, last night's Thunder-Heat game led to a local market ratings surge in several markets, including Oklahoma City (7.9), Miami (6.1) and New York (3.9) and set an ESPN ratings record in Tulsa (4.9).
Local markets
Local market Rating Market ranking
Oklahoma City 7.9 Third highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN
Miami 6.1 Fifth highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN
Tulsa 4.9 Highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN
New York 3.9 Second highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN
Jacksonville 3.9 Third highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN
Ft. Myers 3.2 Second highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN
WatchESPN
The Thunder-Heat game was a huge digital success for WatchESPN. The game generated 4 million live minutes viewed and an average minute audience of 25,423 across platforms. This is the best NBA regular season game on WatchESPN so far this season and the second best ever behind the Heat-Celtics game on March 18, 2013.
Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat on ESPN Super Bowl weekend
The Thunder and the Heat will be in action during Super Bowl weekend in New York. On Friday, Jan. 31, the Thunder will visit the Brooklyn Nets at 8 p.m. ET. On Saturday, Feb. 1, the Heat will visit the New York Knicks at 8:30 p.m. Both games can be seen on ESPN and will also be available via WatchESPN.
|