That’s not hyperbole, that’s the truth and the numbers don’t lie. Back in the 1980’s when the NBA was trying to gain traction with the America people, it ran a promo saying, “NBA Action is Fantastic“. Well, people certainly love their NBA action and if there’s a lockout, there are going to be some pissed off Americans.
Based on this postseason, people flocked to their TV’s to watch the NBA Playoffs on TNT. They had the most watched NBA postseason in cable TV history averaging a 3.5 rating and 5.5 million viewers. But the numbers were very impressive for the Eastern Conference Finals which averaged a 6.3 rating and 10.4 million viewers. That certainly is fantastic.
Your press release from Turner Sports.
2011 NBA PLAYOFFS ON TNT WERE MOST WATCHED IN CABLE TELEVISION HISTORY; TNT AVERAGED 5.5 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS AND A 3.5 U.S. HH RATING
GAME #5 OF THE NBA’S EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS DELIVERED 10.4 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS AND A 6.3 OVERALL U.S. HH RATING
BULLS-HEAT SERIES AVERAGED A CONFERENCE FINAL CABLE RECORD 10.4 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS AND A 6.2 U.S. HH RATINGTNT’s coverage of the 2011 NBA Playoffs is one for the record books. The network’s 40-game coverage of the NBA Playoffs set ratings and viewership records for cable television and soared over TNT’s coverage last year, averaging a 3.5 U.S. HH Rating (+25%), 5,534,000 Total Viewers (+29%) and 3,999,000 Households (+26%).
The network’s six weeks of Playoffs coverage culminated on Thursday with TNT’s exclusive coverage of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals Game #5 featuring the Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls. TNT’s final game of the 2011 NBA Playoffs delivered 10.4 million total viewers and a 6.3 U.S. HH rating.
Overall, TNT’s 2011 NBA Playoffs coverage also delivered strong double-digit year-over-year growth across all key demos including:
- A18-34 +37% (1,803,000 vs. 1,312,000)
- A18-49 +33% (3,165,000 vs. 2,371,000)
- A25-54 +29% (2,868,000 vs. 2,224,000)
- M18-34+36% (1,245,000 vs. 916,000)
- M18-49+35% (2,222,000 vs. 1,648,000)
- M25-54+30% (1,995,000 vs. 1,530,000)
Source: Nielsen Media Research. Live +Same Day data. 4/17/11-5/26/11 vs 4/18/10-5/29/10.
With the NBA Playoffs performing at record levels, TNT topped the ad-supported cable rankings as the #1 network in primetime throughout its six weeks of coverage (4/17-5/24). Additionally, TNT won the night in key adult demos for both broadcast and cable 15 of 22 nights for M18-34, 10 times in M18-49, five times in P18-34, six times for M25-54 and twice for P18-49.
Source: Nielsen Media Research. Live +Same Day data. 4/17/11-5/24/11.NBA Digital, co-managed by Turner Sports and the NBA, has seen similar record-breaking traffic to-date for its online and mobile coverage. NBA.com has delivered 1.5 billion page views and a 545 million video streams, up 40% and 134%, respectively. While NBA Mobile downloads for the NBA GameTime are up 75% compared to last year.
NBA.com:
- 1.5 billion page views were viewed, an increase of 40% from last year’s coverage.
- 545 million videoswere viewed, an increase of 134% from 2010.
- 8 million average daily uniques, an increase of 78% from 2010.
Source: Omniture, NBA Internal Data
NBA Mobile:
- Since the start of the playoffs, NBA mobile apps have received more than 681,000 downloads an increase of 75% YOY. (Sources: Apple, Google, RIM)
“This was one of the most thrilling seasons in NBA history, leading to record-breaking ratings and enormous success for TNT,” said David Levy, president of sales, distribution and sports, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. “From the tip-off of our 52-game regular season to All-Star Weekend to TNT’s coverage of 40 Playoff games, this NBA season was about setting new records and creating winning nights of television. Through a multiplatform strategy, we also achieved more than great ratings. We used all of our television, broadband and mobile assets to connect everywhere our audiences watch the NBA, building the largest possible viewership across all platforms.”
The five-game Heat-Bulls series, won by Miami, was the most-watched Conference Finals in cable television history, averaging 6.2 U.S. HH Rating(+29% year-over-year), 10,413,000 Total Viewers (+33%) and 7,190,000 Households (+30%).
- The Heat-Bulls series featured three of the top four most-watched games in cable television history, led by Game #1, delivering 11.1 million total viewers, with a 6.2 U.S. HH rating.
- Game #3 was the second most-watched NBA game in cable television history with nearly 10.9 million total viewers and 6.4 U.S. HH rating.
- Game #5 was the fourth most-watched NBA game in cable television history with 10.4 million total viewers, and with a 6.3 U.S. HH rating.
Source: Nielsen Media Research. Live +Same Day data. 5/15/11-5/26/11.
TNT’s postseason success follows the network’s record-setting regular season which averaged a 1.6 U.S. household rating (+45% vs. 1.1 for last year’s corresponding coverage); 2,453,000 total viewers (+42% vs. 1,723,000); and 1,826,000 households (+39% vs. 1,315,000). In addition, this season’s audience is +30% larger than Turner’s second-best regular-season audience from 1995-96 (1,885,000). Also, TNT aired three of the top five all-time most watched NBA regular-season games in cable television history this season and scored significant growth in all key demos:
- A18-34 +49% (810,000 vs. 544,000)
- A18-49 +47% (1,378,000 vs. 937,000)
- A25-54 +42% (1,221,000 vs. 857,000)
- M18-34 +43% (567,000 vs. 396,000)
- M18-49 +45% (970,000 vs. 667,000)
- M25-54 +40% (855,000 vs. 609,000)
Source: Nielsen Media Research. Live +Same Day data. 10/26/10-4/12/11.
There you have it.
