or


[01/30/14 - 08:01 AM]
Thunder-Heat Showdown Delivers ESPN's Highest-Rated NBA Game of the Season
ESPN spins the numbers for Wednesday, January 29.
[via press release from ESPN]

Thunder-Heat Showdown Delivers ESPN's Highest-Rated NBA Game of the Season

Local Ratings Surge in Oklahoma City, Miami, New York; Record Rating in Tulsa

Best NBA Game on WatchESPN this Season

Wednesday's 2012 NBA Finals rematch - the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the defending NBA Champion Miami Heat, 112-95, behind Kevin Durant's 33-point performance - delivered a 2.7 overnight rating, according to Nielsen. This is the highest-rated NBA game on ESPN during the 2013-14 season. The telecast was up 93 percent from last year's comparable game (Miami Heat at Brooklyn Nets, 1.4).

In addition, last night's Thunder-Heat game led to a local market ratings surge in several markets, including Oklahoma City (7.9), Miami (6.1) and New York (3.9) and set an ESPN ratings record in Tulsa (4.9).

Local markets

Local market Rating Market ranking

Oklahoma City 7.9 Third highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN

Miami 6.1 Fifth highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN

Tulsa 4.9 Highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN

New York 3.9 Second highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN

Jacksonville 3.9 Third highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN

Ft. Myers 3.2 Second highest-rated NBA regular season game ever on ESPN

WatchESPN

The Thunder-Heat game was a huge digital success for WatchESPN. The game generated 4 million live minutes viewed and an average minute audience of 25,423 across platforms. This is the best NBA regular season game on WatchESPN so far this season and the second best ever behind the Heat-Celtics game on March 18, 2013.

Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat on ESPN Super Bowl weekend

The Thunder and the Heat will be in action during Super Bowl weekend in New York. On Friday, Jan. 31, the Thunder will visit the Brooklyn Nets at 8 p.m. ET. On Saturday, Feb. 1, the Heat will visit the New York Knicks at 8:30 p.m. Both games can be seen on ESPN and will also be available via WatchESPN.





  [january 2014]  
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
[11/06/26 - 10:56 AM]
ABC News Wins Across Sunday Morning, Friday Night and Late-Night
"20/20: Justice for Faith" ranked as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Adults 25-54 (437,000) and Adults 18-49 (341,000) on October 30.
[11/05/26 - 09:30 AM]
"Yaga" Is the #1 Exclusive Series Launch in the History of AMC+
The series also charted as the #1 social drama across all U.S. TV and streaming on its premiere day.
[11/04/26 - 03:37 PM]
Bears-Seahawks Draws 16.4M Viewers, Becomes Most-Watched ESPN-Only "Monday Night Football" Game Since 2019
Bears-Seahawks is also "Monday Night Football's" third most-watched Week 8 game of the ESPN era (2006-present).
[11/04/26 - 12:31 PM]
"Saturday Night Live" Hits Season High with Host Inde Navarrette and Musical Guest Gracie Abrams
It was also the top Peacock performance of the season and best since March 14, 2026, with host and musical guest Harry Styles.
[11/04/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of October 26
"The Terminal List," "Carrie," "Reacher," "Neagley," and "Helluva Boss" led all original series worldwide.
[11/03/26 - 03:01 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Most-Watched WNBA Playoff Game Ever; 3.3 Million Viewers Watch Valkyries Win Title in First-Ever Game 7
Viewership was up 128% vs. the 2025 WNBA Finals deciding game (LV-PHX Game 4).
[11/03/26 - 02:42 PM]
"College GameDay" Continues Historic Run Over Halloween at IU, ABC Takes Top Spot and Delivers Three of Top Five Most-Watched Games
ESPN topped all networks in Week 9, with ABC delivering three of the week's five most-watched games and winning the noon and afternoon windows.
[11/03/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 26 - "Lupin" Part 4 Captures the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"The One About Matthew Perry" debuted in the No. 1 spot on the English TV list, gathering 9.5 million views.
[11/03/26 - 11:01 AM]
CBS Up +12% from Its Week #2 Last Year - Network Places 14 of the Top 20 Series; Top Two Comedies; Top Three New Series
CBS episodes topped the Nielsen live plus 7-days of multiplatform viewership for the week of October 12-18.
[10/31/26 - 10:48 AM]
USA Sports Delivers 1.5 Million Viewers for Valkyries-Dream Game 6 Thursday Matinee
USA Sports' Game 6 coverage delivered the fifth most-watched WNBA Finals game on cable on record.
[10/30/26 - 08:57 AM]
ABC News Wins Across Friday Night, Sunday Morning and Late-Night
"20/20: Help Dale Find Dee" ranked as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.
[10/29/26 - 03:25 PM]
Champions at Last: 14.2 Million Viewers Projected for FOX Sports' Coverage of Milwaukee Brewers World Series Clinch
13,476,000 viewers tuned in for World Series Game 4 presented by Capital One across FOX and FOX Deportes.
[10/29/26 - 12:21 PM]
ABC Thursday Returns Strong with "9-1-1" and "9-1-1: Nashville" Rising Over Previous Season Averages
The Season 10 debut of "9-1-1" (8 p.m.) earned 8.14 million Total Viewers after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms, based on Nielsen's competitive multiplatform measurement.

[10/28/26 - 03:31 PM]
Cowboys-Eagles on "Monday Night Football" Delivers 18.8M Viewers
Seven weeks into ESPN's Super Bowl LXI season, "Monday Night Football" is up 26% compared to the same point in 2025, averaging 19M viewers.
[10/28/26 - 11:30 AM]
"The Drew Barrymore Show" Hits All-Time Series High
This season to date, "The Drew Barrymore Show" averaged 1.90 million total viewers, up +36% year over year.