LDN - Sports

Warriors-Cavs series big hit on TV

[June 12, 2017] The Sports Xchange

The 2017 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers is the most-watched NBA Finals since 1998 through four games, according to Fast Nationals from Nielsen.

The series, which is being telecast by ABC, is averaging a total live audience (television plus streaming) of 19,788,000 viewers, up 12 percent from 17,696,000 viewers in 2016.

On ABC, the series is averaging 19,380,000 viewers, plus an average minute streaming audience of 408,000 viewers.

Friday night's Game 4 broadcast, when the Cavaliers defeated the Warriors 137-116, delivered a total live audience of 19,387,000 average viewers, up 15 percent from a total live audience of 16,867,000 viewers in 2016.

Game 4 peaked on ABC with 22,450,000 viewers from 11-11:30 p.m. ET.

In addition, Game 4 delivered a 12.6 metered market rating, up five percent from a 12.0 for last year's Game 4, according to Nielsen. The broadcast peaked with a 14.9 rating from 11:15-11:30 p.m. ET.

The 2017 Finals are averaging a 12.8 metered market rating through four games. This is up five percent from a 12.2 in 2016.

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The Game 4 broadcast delivered a 35.5 rating in the Cleveland market and a 32.1 rating in the San Francisco-Oakland market. The other top local markets include: Columbus (18.9); Sacramento (16.8); Memphis (16.5); Atlanta (16.0); San Antonio (15.6); Miami (15.4); Birmingham (14.7); Chicago (14.3).

ESPN set multiple NBA Finals Game 4 streaming records. The game delivered 71,592,200 total minutes streamed, 1,901,000 unique viewers and an average minute streaming audience of 374,800 viewers -- all Game 4 records.

The NBA Finals was the most-watched telecast across all of television for the 59th consecutive time.

The Warriors lead the best-of-seven series 3-1 heading into Game 5 on Monday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.

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