NBA Doubleheader Season Opener Ratings Score Double Digit Rise Over 2016 :-: Deadline
REX/Shutterstock The opening of the NBA season on Tuesday was a good night for the Cleveland Cavali..
REX/Shutterstock
The opening of the NBA season on Tuesday was a good night for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets and it was a very good night for TNT – and TBS and MLB as the Los Angeles Dodgers look poised for a World Series perch.
In meter market results, the doubleheader start of the 2017-2018 b-ball season delivered a 3.5 rating for the Turner cabler. Not only did that LeBron James and Cavs 102-99 win over the Boston Celtics and the Rockets’ dramatic 122-121 victory over current champs the Golden State Warriors rise 46% over last year’s October 25 opener but it was clear win over all of cable.
Breaking things down to the individual games, things prove an even more dramatic ratings dunk with double digits rises in both cases. For the first game in the Ohio city, which started with Cavs players linking arms in protest and solidarity during the national anthem, there was an 82% uptick from last year’s New York Knicks vs. the then NBA champs season opener. Last night’s Cavs vs. Celtics court battle drew a 4.0 MM rating with a peak of a 4.8 in the 10:15 – 10:30 PM ET slot.
This was of course all happening as over on that other Turner outlet TBS the L.A. Dodgers continued their unbeaten National League Championship Series streak to beat the Chicago Cubs 6-1 in Game 3 last night in the City of Angels. Up 26% in MM ratings over 2016’s Game 3 with 4.3 result, last night’s MLB game was the highest rated single program on all of cable – as tonight’s potentially Cubs eliminating Game 4 could be. And, for you locals, the 14.4 MM rating that Game 3 hit in L.A. last night was the best any Dodgers game has done on any net since such records started being tabulated in 1998.
Flipping back to b-ball, like last year’s opener, Steph Curry and the Warriors were not victorious but the game itself was – at least for the NBA and TNT. With a 3.1 metered market result, the second game of last night’s opening doubleheader was up 24% over the Bay Area team’s match-up with the San Antonio Spurs on October 25, 2016 where the Texas team won 129-100. The Warriors vs. Rockets game hit its own high with a 4.4 rating in the 10:30 – 10:45 PM ET slot as the championship trophy ceremony was being conducted on-air.
The 2016 opening doubleheader went on to deliver 3.2 million viewers for TNT, a 10% increase over the 2015 opener. We’ll update with more results from this year’s opener later as we get them.
