While the Eastern Conference Finals concluded Tuesday with a clean sweep by the Cleveland Cavaliers, it turned out to be a big win for broadcaster TNT as well.
TNT averaged 6.8 million total viewers and a 4.2 U.S. HH rating for the Cavs’ four-game sweep of the Atlanta Hawks, jumps of 7% and 5%, respectively, over last year’s Western Conference Finals telecasts. The game telecast as well as the Inside the NBA postgame show ranked as the top two original cable programs each of the four nights.
With an average of 7.8 million viewers and a 4.7 rating, Game 3 finished as Sunday’s most-viewed and highest-rated program across cable and broadcast television. Tuesday night’s Game 4 averaged 6.3 million total viewers and a 4.0 rating.
Live streaming of the four games saw double-digit increases. Across digital screens, including Turner’s TV Everywhere platforms, live streaming was up 74% in starts, 71% in total minutes consumed and 56% in uniques over the last year.
Each of the four games was the most-discussed television program on Twitter on its respective night, as the series drew nearly 280 million social media impressions, a 108% increase from last year, for content published across Turner’s NBA on TNT and NBA TV Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Turner and ESPN/ABC alternate airing the Eastern and Western Conference Finals. Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals airs on ESPN Wednesday evening.
