Game 7 sets national cable-television ratings record
Coverage: 2009 Bulls Playoff Central
May 5, 2009 – The Chicago Bulls announced today that close to 2.6 million Chicago TV homes tuned in to watch their First Round (Eastern Conference Quarterfinals) series vs. the Boston Celtics.
Saturday’s Game 7 match-up posted a 15.33 combined rating with Comcast SportsNet and TNT that resulted in approximately 535,462 Chicago TV homes tuning in for this game. During the 9:45-10:00 p.m. quarter-hour, the combined rating was a 20.1 (over 702,000 Chicago TV homes tuning in).
According to TNT, Game 7 also set a national cable-television ratings record for first-round games. The game was the most watched Round One game in cable television history in households (5,017,000) and total viewers (6,987,000), surpassing the network’s previous record for Game 6 of the series.
Game 6 of the Bulls-Celtics match-up posted a 13.72 combined rating with CSN and TNT equating to 479,226 Chicago households. During the 10:00-10:15 p.m. final quarter-hour, the combined rating peaked at 22.5 (close to 786,000 Chicago TV homes tuning in).
Below is a breakdown of the broadcast ratings for each game throughout the series. All ratings information was provided by Nielsen Media Research.
Game 1: 7.58 rating (for both CSN & ESPN) – approx. 246,762 Chicago TV homes tuning in
Game 2: 9.94 rating (for both CSN & TNT) – approx. 347,194 Chicago TV homes tuning in
Game 3: 7.91 rating (for both CSN & TNT) – approx. 276,288 Chicago TV homes tuning in
Game 4: 10.38 rating (ABC exclusive) – approx. 362,563 Chicago TV homes tuning in
Game 5: 10.37 rating (for both CSN & TNT) – approx. 362,214 Chicago TV homes tuning in
Game 6: 13.72 rating (for both CSN & TNT) – approx. 479,226 Chicago TV homes tuning in
Game 7: 15.33 rating (for both CSN & TNT) – approx. 535,462 Chicago TV homes tuning in
For the 2008-09 regular season campaign, overall Bulls broadcast ratings saw a substantial increase. WGN-TV games averaged a 3.94 household season rating, up 25% from last season. WCIU-TV games averaged a 3.14 household season rating, up 28% from last season. Comcast SportsNet garnered a 16% increase in television ratings over last season. Games on Comcast SportsNet averaged a 2.03 household season rating.