The Boston Celtics’ overtime win over the Miami Heat has drawn the highest preliminary television rating for an NBA playoff game on cable since records started being kept in 2003.
Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday night on ESPN produced a 7.9 overnight rating. The network said Monday that was up 39 percent from Game 4 of the 2011 Western Conference finals on ESPN between the Mavericks and Thunder.
In Boston, the game had a 20.7 rating, the highest on cable for an NBA playoff game in the market since records started being kept in 2003.
Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program. Overnight ratings measure the country’s largest markets.
According to ESPN, the game also set records on ESPN3 and WatchESPN.
(Game 5 is tonight at 8:30 on ESPN)
–ESPN
