An NBA Finals rematch featuring the two most prominent teams in the sport led to high ratings on ABC Christmas Day.
The Lakers’ win over the Celtics on Thursday evening drew a 5.3 rating and 9.96 million viewers on ABC, up 51% and 66% respectively from a 3.5 with 5.98 million for last year’s comparable Suns/Lakers game.
The 5.3 rating is the best for an NBA regular season game since Heat/Lakers on Christmas Day 2004, which drew a 7.3 rating. That game featured the first head-to-head meeting between Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Additionally, the 5.3 is the second-highest rating for an NBA regular season game since 2000.
The game drew a 12.2 rating in Boston, compared to an 11.8 in Los Angeles.
To put the numbers in perspective, the 5.3 rating surpassed the 5.2 FOX averaged for its four prime time NLCS telecasts in October, the 3.0 average for the Stanley Cup Finals on NBC, and the final rounds of the British Open (3.3) and PGA Championship (2.8). Additionally, the 9.9 million viewers beat four of the five college football conference championships, including the Big 12 Championship Game (8.8 million viewers).
10 Highest rated NBA regular season games since 2000.
7.3: Heat/Lakers (12/25/04, 3 PM ABC)
5.3: Celtics/Lakers (12/25/08, 5 PM ABC)
5.1: Lakers/Blazers (2/17/02, 4:30 PM NBC)
4.8: Lakers/Heat (12/25/05, 3 PM ABC)
4.8: Lakers/76ers (2/20/00, 5:30 PM NBC)
