The Hawks’ quarterfinal playoff series victory over the Nets had an increased television viewership of 60 percent over last season in the Atlanta market, the team announced Monday. The 4-2 series win over the Nets generated a 6.6 combined rating for local and national telecasts in the Atlanta market, up considerably from last season’s 4-3 quarterfinal series loss to the Pacers.
Coverage of the Hawks-Nets series on ESPN and TNT had a 5.1 rating, up from 3.2 last season, in the Atlanta market. The Game 1 win over the Nets had a 7.2 rating in Atlanta and a 9.7 combined rating, more than double the Hawks’ highest rated playoff game last season.
Local broadcasts on SportSouth and Fox Sports South had a total viewership increase of 34 percent over last season.
The viewership numbers for Game 1 of the Hawks-Wizards semifinal series were not good. Not at all. The series opener on ABC Sunday afternoon drew a 2.6 overnight rating. According to Sports Media Watch, it’s the lowest rating for a playoff game on ABC since the network resumed televising games in 2002. The previous low was 2.7 in four other games, including Game 7 of the Hawks-Bucks series in 2010.
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