LeBron James first game back in Miami since re-joining Cleveland highlighted NBAs Christmas Day coverage, airing in ABCs late-afternoon window once reserved for the L.A. Lakers and its starKobe Bryant. Further indicatinghow Lakers fortunes have fallen lately, for the first time ever, the onceratings juggernaut team was dropped from the ABC Christmas Day lineup and didnt even make it on ESPN.
The Heat-Cavaliers face-off, won by Miami 101-91, drew a 5.5 overnight rating, up 12% from last years game between the Heat and L.A. Lakers. In Miami, the matchuplogged a massive 17.2 rating, making it the highest-rated NBA regular-season game ever in the market.
In the early ABC window, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 114-106, in a rematch of the 2014 Western Conference Finals. The broadcast delivered a 4.0 rating, up +8%percent from Oklahoma Citys lopsided victory over the Knicks in 2013. Last year, both games on ABC tumbled year-to-year (-18% and -37%) as two of the leagues biggest stars, New York Knicks Carmelo Anthony and the Lakers Kobe Bryant, were sidelined with injuries. The average for the doubleheader yesterday was a 4.8.
In an unusual setup thus year, ABC and ESPN covered three of the five NBA Christmas Day games instead of all five as the two networks normally do. The lone game on ESPN yesterday wasWashington Wizards 102-91 victory over the New York Knicks at noon ET, which delivered a 2.1 overnight rating, down -9% from the corresponding game between the Chicago Bulls and the Brooklyn Nets last year. InWashington D.C., the matchup posted a 3.6, the second-highest rated Wizards regular-season game on ESPN ever in the market.
Powered by ABCs gains, ABCs and ESPNs Christmas Day tripleheader combined averaged a 4.0 overnight rating, up +8% from the comparable three windows in 2013.Vs. the five-game average last year, the tripleheader was up +29%.
As usual, the NBA coverage on ABC gave the networks primetime Christmas lineup a boost. The network dominated last night with a 1.8 average adults 18-49 rating forthe animated Dr. Seuss How The Grinch Stole Christmasspecial (1.9, a five-year high) and the featureDr. Seuss How The Grinch Stole Christmas(1.8 ). They were up +58% and +38%, respectively, from last year when the two aired on Christmas Eve.
Source: http://deadline.com/2014/12/nba-ratings-christmas-day-lebron-james-grinch-1201336545/
