or


[06/05/15 - 06:46 AM]
Highest-Rated NBA Finals Game 1 Ever on ABC: 12.9 Overnight Rating
ESPN spins the numbers for Thursday, June 4.
[via press release from ESPN]

Highest-Rated NBA Finals Game 1 Ever on ABC: 12.9 Overnight Rating

· Up 24 Percent From Last Year; Broadcast Peaked with 15.6 Rating

· NBA Finals Expected to Win the Night for 43rd Consecutive Time

Game One of the 2015 NBA Finals, in which the Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in an overtime thriller, delivered a 12.9 overnight rating, making it the highest-rated NBA Finals Game 1 ever on ABC, according to Nielsen. The broadcast peaked with a 15.6 from 11:30 p.m.-11:45 p.m. ET.

NBA Finals Game 1 was also up 24 percent from a 10.4 for last year's Game 1 (Miami Heat-San Antonio Spurs).

It is expected that the NBA Finals will win the night across television for the 43rd consecutive time.

Record local numbers

Game 1 on ABC delivered a 41.4 rating in the Cleveland market and a 28.9 in the San Francisco market. Both are the highest-rated NBA games on ABC ever in the respective markets. Top 10 local markets:

Market Rating
Cleveland 41.4
San Francisco 28.9
Columbus 21.1
Memphis 19.9
Norfolk 16.5
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 16.2
Sacramento 15.7
Atlanta 15.6
Richmond-Petersburg 15.2
Raleigh-Durham 15.0

Additionally, NBA Countdown - ABC's NBA Finals pre-game show - generated a 4.6 overnight rating, which is up 18 percent from 3.9 for the corresponding show leading into Game 1 in 2014.

The NBA Finals will continue with Game Two on ABC this Sunday, June 7, at 8 p.m. ET. NBA Countdown will precede the broadcast at 7:30 p.m. For more details on ABC's and ESPN's NBA Finals coverage, visit ESPN Media Zone.





  [june 2015]  
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
[12/05/25 - 03:31 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, hitting nine-week highs in both measures.
[12/05/25 - 02:05 PM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Best College Football Regular Season Since 2011; "College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Scores Most-Watched Season Ever
ESPN networks aired the most-watched game in 34 of 42 key Saturday windows, including seven of 14 noon windows, 13 of 14 late afternoon windows and all 14 prime windows.
[12/05/25 - 12:35 PM]
2025 CFB Viewership Surges on FOX & FS1
The 2025 regular season wrapped with big numbers for "Big Noon Saturday," "Big Noon Kickoff" and more - including year-over-year gains across the board.
[12/05/25 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Premiere Week Episodes Post Gains and Lead In Live Plus 35-Day Multiplatform Viewership
"Tracker" delivered 17.3 million viewers, up +6% versus its year-ago premiere.
[12/05/25 - 08:45 AM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched Women's College Volleyball Season on Record
Said coverage averaged 190,000 viewers, up 36% from the 2024 season.
[12/04/25 - 04:19 PM]
"College GameDay Built By The Home Depot" Delivers Second-Best Regular Season Episode Ever; ESPN Scores Best Rivalry Week Since 2012
The Lone Star Showdown drew over 13 million viewers, peaking with 14.3 million viewers.
[12/04/25 - 03:45 PM]
"Big Noon Kickoff" Scores 4.36 Million Viewers on FOX
The 2025 season was "Big Noon Kickoff's" most-watched season in history.
[12/04/25 - 02:41 PM]
18.4M Viewers Tuned in for Ohio State-Michigan on FOX
Ohio State's win over Michigan scored 18,424,000 viewers on FOX.
[12/04/25 - 02:28 PM]
Record Audience Watches Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix on ESPN2
The November 30 telecast earned an average audience of 1.4 million viewers, the largest audience ever to watch the event on U.S. television.
[12/03/25 - 11:59 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Season Premiere Catapults to Over 19 Million Total Viewers
Over 35 days, ABC's Thursday night drama premieres amassed impressive audiences based on competitive cross-platform broadcast series rankings, with all three dramas landing in the Top 10 among Adults 18-49.
[12/03/25 - 08:57 AM]
Record NFL Viewership Caps Thanksgiving Night on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo
Bengals-Ravens is the most-watched Thanksgiving night NFL game ever with an average of 28.4 million viewers.
[12/03/25 - 08:55 AM]
"NFL on CBS" Shatters Record for Most-Watched Regular-Season Game in NFL History with More Than 57 Million Viewers
Viewership peaked with 61.357 million viewers for the game's thrilling conclusion (7:45-8:00 PM ET).
[12/03/25 - 08:49 AM]
FOX Sports Feasts on Thanksgiving Day with 47.7 Million Viewers for Packers-Lions
Viewership peaked with 57,957,000 viewers from 4:00-4:15 PM ET.
[12/03/25 - 08:47 AM]
Most-Watched NBA on ESPN Thanksgiving Eve in Six Years
The inaugural tripleheader averaged 2,099,000 viewers, up 54 percent from last year's Thanksgiving Eve doubleheader, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.
[12/02/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of November 24 - "Stranger Things" Escapes the Upside Down to Take No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
The series returned last week with Volume 1 of its fifth and final season, touting the biggest premiere week ever for an English language show in the history of Netflix, amassing 59.6 million views and securing No. 1 on the English TV list.