MIAMI – Game 1 of the Miami-Dallas matchup in the NBA finals generated a 10.7 overnight rating on ABC, the most for an opening game in the league's title series since 2004.
The network said that's up 3 percent over the numbers generated by Game 1 of the Los Angeles Lakers-Boston Celtics meeting in the finals last year, and up 15 percent over the opener of the Heat-Mavericks series in 2006.
Miami was the highest-rated metered market with a 31.9 rating, up 28 percent over Game 1 of the 2006 finals. Dallas (29.9) was the market watching second-most, followed by West Palm Beach, San Antonio, Memphis, New Orleans and Cleveland — the city where LeBron James spent his first seven seasons.
Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program. Overnight ratings represent the nation's largest markets.
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