The Cleveland Cavaliers took care of business last night against the New Orleans Pelicans. The game had everything we had hoped for in the Cavs Home Opener: a win, some exciting plays and some great offense. The Cavs needed the win to square them at 3 – 3. For those who care it also put them in the playoffs, tied for the sixth seed with two other teams.
According to information sent to us via Fox Sports Ohio it was also their highest rated game since the first game after LeBron James left the team:
The Cavs 118-111 win over the Pelicans last night garnered a 9.7 HH rating in Cleveland on FOX Sports Ohio (approx. 144,000 households).Not an overly surprising statistic that it has been four years since that kind of rating, except that the higher rating was after James left. Fans were likely very curious to see what the Cavs could be without their star but quickly lost the intrigue factor as the team’s performance was poor.
Last night’s game was the highest rated Cavs game on FOX Sports Ohio since Oct. 27, 2010 (10.38 HH) which was the Cavs home opener vs. the Celtics (Cavs won 95-87) and first game following LeBron James’ departure to the Heat.
Following the final buzzer, over 63,000 households stayed tuned in for Cavaliers Live postgame show during which Kevin Love and Dion Waiters video-bombed Allie Clifton’s interview with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. WATCH
With LeBron back and Kevin Love joining the fold you can expect that these type of ratings will happen every time the Cavs grace FSO. The network gives good coverage with solid reporters who are local and passionate about the team. Most, or all, of them have covered the team for years, and are not just with the team now that they are good. For this writer who has been covering the team for a couple years, and watched as many games as possible, they are the type of reporters I like to hear from.
