Game 3 of the 2007 NBA Finals drew a 6.4 rating with an 11 share, down 20% from an 8.0 for Mavericks/Heat Game 3 last year, down 11% from a 7.2 rating for Spurs/Pistons Game 3 in 2005 and down 9% from a 7.0 rating for Spurs/Nets Game 3 in 2003.
The 6.4 rating is tied with Game 1 of the 2003 NBA Finals as the fifth-lowest rated NBA Finals game since 1981. Only Games 1 and 2 of this series and Games 2 and 5 of the 2003 NBA Finals drew worse ratings.
Through three games, the 2007 NBA Finals is averaging a 6.1 rating, down 23% from the 7.9 average for the first three games of last year’s NBA Finals. That 6.1 average is also down 14% from the 7.1 three-game average for the 2005 Finals, and down 2% from the 6.2 average for the first three games of the 2003 NBA Finals.
Despite the low ratings nationally, the NBA Finals is drawing huge ratings in at least one market outside of Cleveland and San Antonio; the Dallas-Fort Worth market has been drawing big ratings for the series; while the series finale of The Sopranos bested Game 2 nationally, the game outdrew the HBO series by a significant margin in the market. That is a very good sign for the league should the Mavericks ever return to the NBA Finals.
Among African Americans, the Finals has seen a steep decline in ratings. Game 1 drew a 16.4 rating with 3.1 million viewers in the demo, down 20% from a 20.4 rating for Game 1 of the 2006 Finals. Game 2 drew a 15.2 rating and 2.7 million viewers, down 32% from a 22.4 rating for Game 2 between the Heat and Mavericks. In Games 1 and 2, African-American viewership accounted for 34% and 31% of total viewership, respectively. Those percentages are comparable to last year’s numbers. Despite the declines, the first two games of the Finals were two most watched events in the African American demographic last week.
Assuming the Spurs sweep, Game 4 needs to draw a 15.7 rating in order to tie the 8.5 average from last year’s NBA Finals. More realistically, the game needs to draw a 7.7 rating to tie the record-low 6.5 average rating from the 2003 NBA Finals.
