NBA on ABC's Coverage of Cavaliers v Heat Up 19% in Viewers on Christmas Day

On Thursday, Dec. 25, ABC was the exclusive broadcast home to a blockbuster NBA Christmas Day doubleheader, which delivered double-digit viewership growth, according to Nielsen. The doubleheader - Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs - averaged 7,686,000 viewers (P2+) and a 4.1 U.S. household rating, up 16 percent and 14 percent, respectively, from 2013.

The audience growth was highlighted by the Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat marquee matchup, which drew more than nine million viewers (P2+) and a 19 percent viewership increase for LeBron James' return to Miami. Here are details for both ABC Christmas Day games, plus ESPN's Washington Wizards at New York Knicks telecast, which was also up double-digits:

Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat on ABC

An average audience of 9,299,000 viewers (P2+) tuned-in to watch the Miami Heat defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers in LeBron James' return to Miami. The audience was up 19 percent versus last year.
The broadcast delivered a 4.7 U.S. household rating, up 12 percent versus last year.

Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs on ABC

Nearly six million viewers (5,994,000) watched the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the San Antonio Spurs on Christmas Day. The audience was up 10 percent compared to the comparable game in 2013.
The Thunder-Spurs broadcast generated a 3.3 U.S. household rating, also up 10 percent from last year.

Washington Wizards at the New York Knicks on ESPN

More than three million viewers (3,046,000) tuned-in to ESPN to watch the Washington Wizards defeat the New York Knicks to tip off the Christmas Day tripleheader. The viewership was up nine percent compared to last year.
The Wizards-Knicks telecast delivered a 1.8 U.S rating, up 13 percent versus the comparable game in 2013.

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