Ratings for the NBA Finals may not be as high as was expected, but ABC is not complaining.
Games 3, 4 and 5 of the Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals were the top three shows of the week on broadcast last week, helping ABC win the week among adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. Game 5 on Sunday led the way with a 10.2/19 rating and 17.4 million viewers, the highest rated and most watched NBA Finals game since 2005. Game 5 is the most watched show on television since the season finale of American Idol in May.
Games 3 and 4 of the Finals finished #2 and #3 for the week respectively. Game 3 drew a 9.2 rating with 14.5 million viewers a week ago, and Game 4 dipped to an 8.7 with 13.8 million viewers last Thursday.
The NBA Finals also took the top three spots among adults 18-49. Game 5 drew a 7.3 rating with 9.5 million viewers in the demo, to take the top spot for the week. Game 3 drew a 6.0 with 7.9 million viewers, and Game 4 finished with a 5.6 and 7.4 million viewers.
Through five games, ABC is averaging a 6.0 rating among adults 18-49, up 62% from a 3.7 last year and 7% higher than the 5.6 average for the 2007 World Series on FOX.
Nielsen did not include the prime time portion of the U.S. Open in its weekly list of most watched programs. Had the 7:00 PM-9:00 PM portion of NBC’s final round coverage been included, it would have finished as the second most watched program of the week, with 16.4 million viewers. Prime time coverage would have also finished fourth for the week among adults 18-49, drawing a 4.6/17 in the demo.
NBC’s complete U.S. Open coverage, from 3:00-9:00 PM Sunday, averaged 12.0 million viewers and a 3.3/14 among adults 18-49.
