The Oct. 28 doubleheader — the Boston Celtics opened defense of their title with a 90-85 victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the 2007-08 runner-up Los Angeles Lakers routed the Portland Trailblazers — averaged a 1.7 household rating, up 12% from a 1.5 for last season’s opening-night event.
Viewership soared 29% to 2.58 million, according to Nielsen Media Research data. TNT, which features exclusive Thursday night doubleheaders, notched a 36% rise to 961,000 adults 18 to 34; 37% improvement to 1.61 million adults 18 to 49; and 32% amelioration to 1.37 million persons 25 to 54.
The games also rated with guys: TNT recorded respective advances of 29% (707,000), 27% (1.14 million) and 22% (969,000) with males of those aforementioned age groups.
Source: Mike Reynolds — Multichannel News, 10/30/2008
