TV Sports Ratings

With the NBA Finals tipping off on ABC this Thursday, the cable portion of the post-season is complete.

In this final year of their 6 year TV contract (worth $4.6 billion*), both TNT and ESPN showed significant gains versus last year. ESPN, in fact, had its highest post-season ratings to date.

The deciding game of Celtics/Pistons hit a series-high in average audience (6.4 million viewers), thanks to an influx of older men and some female viewers.

Demos, however, dropped to below average levels - likely hurt by the low-usage Friday night time period.

Compared to ESPN’s coverage of the West Finals in 2007 (3 games), gains were strong:  59% in Men 18-49, 65% in Men 18-34 and 50% in average audience.

Compared to the East finals on TNT in 2007 (Pistons/Cavs; 6 games), ESPN was up 22% in Men 18-49, 29% in Men 18-34 and 19% in average audience.

The 5th and final game of Lakers/Spurs dropped off from the Game 4 pinnacle, but still posted strong numbers, ranking as the 2nd most-watched of the series:

This ends a very strong post-season for TNT.  Stay tuned for a full wrap-up.

A down-to-the-wire Lakers/Spurs contest ending in controversy gave TNT the highest rated Conference Finals game of this post-season.

Airing on Tuesday 5/27 from 9:14-11:02p, Game 4 averaged a 4.92 among Men 18-49, a 5.31 in Men 18-34 and an average audience of 6.2 million viewers.

Through 4 games, TNT is averaging in the low 4s in male demos with over 6 million viewers.

Compared to the first 4 games of the Eastern Conference Finals on TNT last year, the channel is up 42% in Men 18-49, 49% in Men 18-34 and 43% in average audience.

Median age is stable at 41 years.  Male skew has dropped slightly from 69% to 67.

Memorial Day weekend brought with it depressed usage levels, driving ratings for Game 3 to series-low levels.

Through 3 games, TNT is averaging 4s in male demos with nearly 6 million viewers.

Compared to the first 3 games of the Eastern Conference Finals on TNT last year, the channel is up 38% in Men 18-49, 45% in Men 18-34 and 39% in average audience.

Median age is stable at 42 years.  Male skew has dropped slightly from 69% to 67.

Airing on Wednesday 5/21 on TNT from 9:14-11:57p, Spurs/Lakers averaged a 4.60 in Men 18-49, a 4.86 in Men 18-34 and an average audience of 6.2 million viewers.

Compared to Game 1 last year (Jazz/Spurs; Sunday 5/20; ABC; 3:27-6:18p), TNT was up 84% in Men 18-49, 111% in Men 18-34 and 105% in average audience.

Male skew was steady at 69%.  Median age dropped slightly from 43 years to 41.

The NBA continues to enjoy a strong post-season, with the Cavs/Celtics series putting Finals-caliber numbers.  Much of what is being written is based on Household ratings or average audience (as usual).  Here is the real demo story:

TNT saw a strong 27% gain in the key Men 18-34 break.  It remains to be seen if TNT’s Kobe vs. same old Spurs series is a more appealing matchup than Celtics/same old Pistons on ESPN.

ESPN had larger % gains than TNT, including a 38% jump in Men 18-34.  It still seems like they get hurt by the sporadic scheduling (TNT has a more regular presence).  Regardless, they have to be happy.

Although Sunday’s Cavs/Celtics game was huge and numbers are up significantly vs. 2007, these levels are still well below what ABC was doing at the start of this contract.

Through Thursday’s games, TNT’s numbers continue to impress.  At this point, it’s shaping up as their best post-season since 2003 - also, coincidentally, the last time the Celtics made it out of the first round.

With Cavs/Celtics and Lakers/Jazz (both Game 6) looming on Friday, ESPN’s already impressive numbers will get a boost.