Ratings Roundup: LeBron’s Heat Debut Delivers Highest NBA Cable Rating Ever

The debut of the Miami Heat’s “Big Three” generated the largest ever cable audience for an NBA game, as TNT’s season opener drew a 4.6 U.S. rating and 7.433 million total viewers, up 77% in ratings and up 85% in viewership from last year (Celtics-Cavaliers, 2.6, 4.021 million). The previous cable record was set back in 1996, when a Bulls-Lakers matchup featuring Michael Jordan and the recently unretired Magic Johnson brought in 7.3 million viewers…

…Game two of TNT’s doubleheader featuring the Rockets and Lakers delivered a 2.4 rating and 3,719,000 total viewers. That averages out to a 3.5 rating and 5.5 million viewers for the night, marking the most watched opening night doubleheader in Turner’s 27 years of NBA coverage…

…This week’s edition of Monday Night Football on ESPN featuring the New York Giants’ 41-35 victory over the Dallas Cowboys earned a 11.2 US rating and 17,953,000 viewers, making it the fourth most-watched cable program in history (excluding breaking news), and the biggest cable television audience of the year…

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