or


[01/30/14 - 08:01 AM]
Thunder-Heat Showdown Delivers ESPN's Highest-Rated NBA Game of the Season
ESPN spins the numbers for Wednesday, January 29.
[via press release from ESPN]

Thunder-Heat Showdown Delivers ESPN's Highest-Rated NBA Game of the Season

Local Ratings Surge in Oklahoma City, Miami, New York; Record Rating in Tulsa

Best NBA Game on WatchESPN this Season

Wednesday's 2012 NBA Finals rematch - the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the defending NBA Champion Miami Heat, 112-95, behind Kevin Durant's 33-point performance - delivered a 2.7 overnight rating, according to Nielsen. This is the highest-rated NBA game on ESPN during the 2013-14 season. The telecast was up 93 percent from last year's comparable game (Miami Heat at Brooklyn Nets, 1.4).

In addition, last night's Thunder-Heat game led to a local market ratings surge in several markets, including Oklahoma City (7.9), Miami (6.1) and New York (3.9) and set an ESPN ratings record in Tulsa (4.9).

Local markets

Local market Rating Market ranking

Oklahoma City 7.9 Third highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN

Miami 6.1 Fifth highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN

Tulsa 4.9 Highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN

New York 3.9 Second highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN

Jacksonville 3.9 Third highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN

Ft. Myers 3.2 Second highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN

WatchESPN

The Thunder-Heat game was a huge digital success for WatchESPN. The game generated 4 million live minutes viewed and an average minute audience of 25,423 across platforms. This is the best NBA regular season game on WatchESPN so far this season and the second best ever behind the Heat-Celtics game on March 18, 2013.

Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat on ESPN Super Bowl weekend

The Thunder and the Heat will be in action during Super Bowl weekend in New York. On Friday, Jan. 31, the Thunder will visit the Brooklyn Nets at 8 p.m. ET. On Saturday, Feb. 1, the Heat will visit the New York Knicks at 8:30 p.m. Both games can be seen on ESPN and will also be available via WatchESPN.





  [january 2014]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/23/26 - 03:54 PM]
ESPN's NBA Opening Wednesday Delivered Its Second-Largest Audience Ever
The Minnesota Timberwolves' victory over the Miami Heat averaged 2.52 million viewers, up 16% from last year's comparable game.
[10/23/26 - 03:25 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 3 Since 1999, Best Ever on Cable
1.71 million viewers on average tuned into Wednesday night's Game 3 coverage across USA Sports' linear platforms (USA Network and CNBC) and streaming on Peacock.
[10/23/26 - 08:30 AM]
Record College Football Viewership Propels ESPN to Second Best Start Since 2011 with "College GameDay" on Track for Most-Watched Season Ever
ESPN networks are averaging 2.2 million viewers across 120 games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU - the second-best start for ESPN since 2011.

[10/22/26 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News Wins Across Friday Night, Sunday Morning and Late-Night
"20/20: The Suitcase Murders" ranked as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.
[10/22/26 - 04:00 PM]
CBS Dominates Its Premiere Week in Seven-Day Multiplatform Viewership, Up +14% from Last Year, with Six Series Topping 10 Million Viewers
Among its broadcast competition, CBS claimed eight of the top 10 series.
[10/22/26 - 02:50 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers Most-Watched NBA Tip-Off Primetime Game Ever with 76ers-Knicks
Viewership peaked at 9.1 million - an NBA Tip-Off record - from 9:45-10:00 pm ET as the 76ers clinched the victory.
[10/22/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Waltzes to Season High During Heartfelt "Dedication Night" with 7.36 Million Total Viewers
The October 20 episode hit a season high with the show's best non-finale episode in six years.
[10/21/26 - 04:01 PM]
USA Sports' Coverage of Dream-Valkyries Game 2 Is Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 2 Ever on Cable
Monday night's coverage averaged 1.33 million viewers across USA Sports' linear platforms (USA Network, CNBC and E!).
[10/21/26 - 03:15 PM]
It's Back to School at "Abbott Elementary" as Show Returns with Over 6 Million Total Viewers
The premiere episode scored the show's best streaming performance since Season 4, based on views over seven days on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
[10/21/26 - 02:31 PM]
Commanders-49ers on "Monday Night Football" Delivers 17.9 Million Viewers
Six weeks into ESPN's Super Bowl LXI season, "Monday Night Football" is up 23% compared to the same point in 2025, averaging 19 million viewers.
[10/21/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of October 12
"Carrie," "Neagley," "Reacher," "Off Campus," and "Sterling Point" led all original series worldwide.
[10/21/26 - 06:39 AM]
NFL Network's London Slate Culminates with 6.4M Viewers for Jaguars-Texans
Season to date, through three games in London, NFL Network is averaging 6.9M viewers, up 15% vs. the network's six-game International Series average last season.
[10/21/26 - 06:30 AM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 1 Ever
Led by Gabby Williams' 26 points, Golden State's 68-64 win over Atlanta peaked at 3.0 million viewers for the game's exciting conclusion from 5:45 - 5:55 p.m. ET.

[10/20/26 - 03:19 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Its Third Most-Watched Regular-Season Episode Ever from BYU
ESPN networks had 3 of the top 4 games this week, the second most-watched regular season Saturday on record (based on minutes).
[10/20/26 - 03:08 PM]
Ohio State's Win Over Indiana Scores Most-Watched College Football Game of the Week
Viewership peaked at 14,269,000 viewers from 3:30-3:45 PM ET on FOX.