We have two press releases, one from TNT and the other from ESPN/ABC regarding their ratings for a rare NBA Opening Day on Christmas. TNT had the very first game of the season, the Boston Celtics visiting the New York Knicks at the newly renovated Madison Square Garden.
TNT saw a 3.4 rating with an average audience of 5.9 million viewers. TNT says that’s the largest NBA Christmas Day audience on cable. Of course, there have been games on both network and cable on Christmas in recent years. Turner Sports adds yesterday’s Celtics-Knicks game was the 4th most watched NBA regular season game in cable TV history.
In Boston, the game garnered a 7.8 rating. New York saw a 7.2.
Here’s the press release from TNT.
TNT’s CELTICS-KNICKS MATCHUP: CABLE’S BIGGEST CHRISTMAS DAY AUDIENCE EVER
TNT earns a 3.4 U.S. HH Rating and more than 5.9 Million Total Viewers as Network tips-off 2011-12 NBA Season; Game ranks as Fourth Most-Watched Regular-Season Contest in Cable TV History
NBA.com Sees Strong Double Digit IncreasesTNT opened its coverage of the 2011-12 NBA regular season on Christmas Day with more than 5.9 million total viewers, a 3.4 U.S. HH Rating and 3.9 million households, marking the most-watched NBA regular-season game on Christmas ever on cable. The game, a two-point victory by the New York Knicks over the Boston Celtics, marked the official tip-off of the NBA regular season.
Only three games, all broadcasted by TNT, delivered a higher audience for a NBA regular-season game on cable then yesterday’s Boston-New York matchup.
- Miami at Boston (7,348,000 total viewers on 10/26/2010)
- Miami at Cleveland (7,096,000 total viewers on12/02/2010)
- LA Lakers at Chicago (7,271,000 total viewers on 2/2/1996)
Locally, yesterday’s Celtics-Knicks game delivered a 7.8 U.S. HH Rating in Boston and a 7.2 U.S. HH Rating in New York.
The Christmas afternoon matchup between the Knicks and Celtics also registered triple-digit growth in all key demos vs. TNT’s coverage of the 2010-11 NBA regular season, including:
- U.S. HH Rating: 3.4 vs. 1.6 rating (+113%)
- Total Viewers: 5,860,000 vs. 2,453,000 (+139%)
- Households: 3,925,000 vs. 1,826,000 (+115%)
- A18-34: 1,859,000 vs. 810,000 (+130%)
- A25-54: 2,901,000 vs. 1,221,000 (+138%)
- A18-49: 3,206,000 vs. 1,378,000 (+133%)
- M18-34: 1,278,000 vs. 567,000 (+125%)
- M18-49: 2,227,000 vs. 970,000 (+130%)
- M25-54: 1,956,000 vs. 855,000 (+129% )
The day was also a huge success for NBA’s digital platforms as fans logged on to NBA.com for news, highlights and analysis. NBA.com experienced extensive traffic (domestic) throughout Christmas Day including:
- Page Views: 20 million page views ( +67% versus Christmas 2010); this ranked as the site’s second highest day for page views; trails only LeBron James’ ‘The Decision’ in summer of 2010 (23.3 million).
- Video Streams: 5.5 million (+84% versus Christmas 2010)
NBA on TNT Premiere Week continues on Tuesday, Dec. 27, with an exclusive doubleheader featuring the Celtics @ Heat (8 p.m. ET) followed by the Utah Jazz @ Lakers (10:30 p.m. ET). The action will continue on Thursday, Dec. 29, with another exclusive doubleheader featuring the Mavericks @ Oklahoma City Thunder (8 p.m. ET) followed by the Knicks @ Lakers (10:30 p.m. ET).
Source: Nielsen Media Research. Based on Live+SD data. 2011 NBA Opening Game, Christmas based on Nielsen Fast National data for 12/25/11 compared vs. Christmas Day NBA Regular Season on ESPN 2003-2010 and 2010-11 NBA Regular Season on TNT 52 game average (10/26/10-04/12/11). Local ratings based on Arianna, Live +SD data.
Now let’s look at ESPN/ABC’s ratings for their combined quadrupleheader on Xmas.
NBA Christmas Day Quadrupleheader Delivers for ABC & ESPN
The NBA Christmas Day quadrupleheader across ABC and ESPN delivered some of the highest regular-season audiences ever based on overnight ratings provided by Nielsen:
Miami vs. Dallas on ABC (2:30 p.m. ET)
- delivered a 5.6 overnight rating, up six percent over last year’s Boston/Orlando broadcast (5.3 rating);
- ABC’s highest-rated Christmas Day game in the 2:30 p.m. broadcast window since Miami/L.A. Lakers in 2004 (7.9 rating);
- in Dallas, posted a 10.8 overnight rating to become ABC’s highest-rated NBA regular season game on record in the market (since 2002-03);
- in Miami, netted a 12.6 metered market rating to become ABC’s third highest-rated NBA regular season game locally.
Chicago vs. L.A. Lakers on ABC (5:30 p.m.)
- generated a 6.5 overnight rating, ABC’s third highest-rated NBA regular season game (trailing only Miami/L.A. Lakers last year, 7.3 rating, and in 2004, 7.9 rating);
- in Chicago, averaged a 17.4 metered market rating, ABC’s highest-rated NBA regular season game locally;
- in L.A., averaged a 12.1 metered market rating, ABC’s fourth highest-rated NBA regular season game in the market.
The NBA Countdown pregame show delivered a 2.2 overnight rating, up 10 percent versus last year’s 2.0 rating.
Orlando vs. Oklahoma City on ESPN (8 p.m.)
- averaged a 1.9 overnight rating, up 36 percent compared to last year’s Denver/Oklahoma City game (1.4 rating);
- in Oklahoma City, registered a 8.3 metered market rating to become ESPN’s highest-rated NBA regular season game locally;
- in Orlando, the telecast posted a 4.1 metered market rating.
L.A. Clippers vs. Golden State on ESPN (10:30 p.m.)
- delivered a 2.3 overnight rating, up 77 percent over last year’s Portland/Golden State telecast, to become ESPN’s highest-rated Christmas Day game ever in prime time;
- the game generated a 3.4 metered market rating in Los Angeles and a 2.7 in San Francisco.
And there you have it.
