Last night’s Warriors-Cavs thriller set a NBA Finals Game 1 rating record

The Sports Xchange

9 years ago

Jun 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Andre Iguodala (9) dunks the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers forward James Jones (1) in game one of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. (Ezra Shaw-Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports)

Jun 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) shoots the ball against Golden State Warriors guard Andre Iguodala (9) in game one of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. (Jeff Chiu-Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports)

June 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) moves to the basket against the defense of Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the overtime period in game one of the NBA Finals. at Oracle Arena. (Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)

June 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) and guard Klay Thompson (11) celebrate the 108-100 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers following the overtime period in game one of the NBA Finals. at Oracle Arena. (Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports)

June 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) moves the ball against the defense of Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) during the second half in game one of the NBA Finals. at Oracle Arena. (Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports)

June 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) is defended by Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) during the second half in game one of the NBA Finals. at Oracle Arena. (Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports)

June 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) steals the ball away from Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the overtime period in game one of the NBA Finals. at Oracle Arena. (Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)

The Golden State Warriors’ 108-100 overtime victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers delivered a 12.9 overnight rating, making it the highest-rated NBA Finals Game 1 ever on ABC.

The broadcast on Thursday night peaked with a 15.6 from 11:30 p.m.-11:45 p.m. ET, according to Nielsen numbers released Friday.

The first game of the best-of-seven series also was up 24 percent from a 10.4 for last year’s Game 1 when the Miami Heat played the San Antonio Spurs.

Thursday’s game also is expected to win the night across television for the 43rd consecutive time.

Game 1 delivered a 41.4 rating in the Cleveland market and a 28.9 in the San Francisco market. Both are the highest-rated NBA games ever shown on ABC in the respective markets. Game 1 was played at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

“NBA Countdown” — ABC’s NBA Finals pregame show — generated a 4.6 overnight rating, which is up 18 percent from 3.9 for the corresponding show leading into Game 1 in 2014.