Final viewership and demographic figures were not available at press time, but the early verdict is that ESPN’s experiment with the LeBron James special “The Decision” was a success.
The cable special, during which LeBron James announced his plans to join fellow free agents Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat, scored a 7.3 household rating in the overnight metered markets, which made it the top-rated program of the evening. The quarter hour in which James actually announced his decision peaked with a 9.6 rating.
The show’s biggest markets were Cleveland and Columbus, with the former posting a 26.0 overnight rating for the special. Miami was the third-highest-rated market.
Criticized as excessive by many television and sports analysts, the special nonetheless proved that the ample publicity for LeBron’s “decision” worked in drawing significant buzz to ESPN–the rating far exceeded viewership for most NBA games.
