ESPN’s & ABC’s NBA Playoffs Ratings Up Double-Digits In Second Weekend

Ben Cafardo

April 24, 2017

ESPN Sets Multiple First-Round NBA Playoffs Streaming Records

Golden State Warriors-Portland Trail Blazers Game 3 Delivers Three-Year ESPN First-Round Television High, Plus Best-Ever First-Round Streaming Mark

The 2017 NBA Playoffs on ESPN and ABC delivered double-digit metered market ratings increases in the second weekend of action. The seven weekend games from April 21-23 delivered a 2.7 average metered market rating, up 13 percent from last season’s second playoff weekend, a 2.4, according to Nielsen. Additionally, the seven games generated an average minute audience of 95,000 streaming viewers, 359,000 average unique viewers, 15,017,000 average minutes streamed and 104 million total minutes streamed (across seven games), which are all first-round streaming records.

More second weekend highlights:

ESPN’s five games averaged a 2.2 metered market rating, up 22 percent from last year.
ESPN’s Saturday doubleheader averaged a 2.8 metered market rating, up 33 percent from last year.
ESPN’s three games on Friday averaged a 1.8 metered market rating, up eight percent from last year.
ABC’s two games averaged a 4.1 metered market rating, up one percent from last year.
Saturday’s Warriors- Trail Blazers Game 3 telecast generated a 3.1 metered market rating, making it the highest-rated first round game on ESPN in three years (since 2014), up 48 percent from last year.
Saturday’s Warriors-Trail Blazers Game 3 delivered an average minute streaming audience of 131,300 viewers – a record for a first-round NBA Playoffs game.
Saturday’s Spurs-Grizzlies Game 4 delivered a 2.5 metered market rating, up 19 percent from the comparable game last year.
Sunday’s Cavaliers-Pacers Game 4 ABC broadcast delivered a 3.6 metered market rating, up 33 percent from last year.
Friday’s Rockets-Thunder Game 3 ESPN telecast generated a 2.6 metered market rating, up 30 percent from last year.
ESPN set multiple first-round streaming audiences records, including the four highest average minute audiences ever: Warriors-Trailblazers Game 3 with 131,300 viewers, Rockets-Thunder Game 3 with 118,000 viewers, Spurs-Grizzlies Game 4 with 107,000 viewers and Rockets-Thunder Game 4 with 103,000 viewers.