Cavs ratings, merchandise skyrocketing amid franchise resurgence
Lakers jerseys featuring LeBron James’ No. 6 may be the top seller in Ohio, but Cleveland’s fan base is catching Cavs fever, based off some feedback provided by the organization.
Sales of Cavs’ merchandise is up a whopping 225 percent from a year ago, according to Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto (subscription required), who cited Director of Communications Tad Carper. The online team shop is up 70 percent.
The Cavs haven’t said which current player has the most popular jersey, but Pluto guesses it’s Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, in that order.
Unsurprisingly, the Cavs have the city’s attention, particularly after the Browns let us down, again, while baseball toils in a lockout.
Cavs TV ratings also soaring
Pluto gave some stats from Bally Sports and the team has a 3.74 average rating, meaning they’re drawing 57,000 “homes in northeast Ohio alone.” That’s a 78 percent increase, according to Pluto.
Cavs’ CEO Len Komoroski said the Cavs have the second highest ratings in the NBA, trailing only the Warriors.
Again, that’s not surprising, as the Indians/Guardians usually draw really well compared to there teams playing on regional networks. I will point out, that’s it’s pretty remarkable the Cavs are still doing that well, because DISH Network doesn’t carry Bally Sports and hasn’t for a while. Pluto didn’t elaborate how streaming plays into all of this.
Local viewers can no longer watch the Cavs on the premium YouTube and Hulu services, while those who can stream through the Bally app have plenty of complaints.
Ohioans, especially in northeast Ohio, love their sports. Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati were all top 10 viewerships for this month’s Super Bowl–and the Cavs, as Ohio’s only team, probably are doing well statewide, although those numbers haven’t been made available.
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With the Cavs either the most or second-most watched game on nights Cleveland plays, the viewership only promises to ramp up. The Cavs currently sit fifth in the Eastern Conference, but are just 3.5 games out of the first spot.