It lacked the star power of a hypothetical Lakers/Cavaliers matchup and lacked the tradition of last year’s Lakers/Celtics tilt, but the Lakers/Magic NBA Finals still put up respectable numbers on ABC.
The five-game 2009 NBA Finals averaged an 8.4 rating and 14.3 million viewers on ABC, down 10% in ratings and 4% in viewers from a 9.3 and 14.9 million for last year’s Lakers/Celtics series. While the 14.3 million viewers is the second-highest average for the NBA Finals since ’04, the 8.4 rating is the fourth-lowest average since 1981 — and the lowest average for an NBA Finals involving the Lakers since 1980.
Game 5 of the NBA Finals drew an 8.0/14 final rating and 14.2 million viewers on Sunday night, down 22% in ratings and 18% in viewers from a 10.2 and 17.3 million for Celtics/Lakers Game 5 last year. The 8.0 is the lowest rating for a Game 5 in the NBA Finals since 2003, and the 14.2 million viewers is the least for a Game 5 since 2005. Game 5 easily had the biggest drop in ratings and viewership of any game in the NBA Finals.
This marks only the third time since 1981 that not a single game of the NBA Finals managed to draw a double-digit rating. Additionally, this is the first time since 2003 that ratings have declined from Game 4 to Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
While Lakers/Magic was down from last year, four of the five games in the series drew at least 14 million viewers — a threshold surpassed by only 10 of the previous 23 NBA Finals games.
On another bright note for the NBA and ABC, the NBA Finals account for the top five programs on broadcast or cable since the end of the television season in both total viewers and adults 18-49. The series as a whole averaged a 5.8 rating in the adults 18-49 demo, down 5% from last year, and the second-highest since ’04.
Compared to past years, the five-game Lakers/Magic series was up 35% and 54%, respectively, from a 6.2 and 9.3 million for Spurs/Cavaliers in ’07, and down 1% and up 10%, respectively, from an 8.5 and 13 million for Heat/Mavericks in ’06.
To put the numbers in perspective, the NBA Finals finished with the same rating as last year’s World Series (8.4), but surpassed the World Series in viewership (14.3 million to 13.6 million). The 8.4 average rating is slightly higher than the 8.3 for the final round of The Masters, but falls behind a 9.0 for the Final Four, a 9.2 for the Daytona 500, a 9.8 for the Kentucky Derby and a 10.2 for the Bowl Championship Series.
Overall, ABC averaged a 5.1 rating for its coverage of the 2009 NBA Playoffs, including the Finals, down 12% from a 5.8 last year. The 5.1 average ties NASCAR on FOX (including the Daytona 500), but falls behind a 5.7 for the NCAA Tournament on CBS (including the Final Four) and a 6.7 for the MLB playoffs on FOX (the NLCS and World Series).
