Ratings dropped significantly for the first game between the Lakers and Magic since last June’s NBA Finals.
The Lakers’ win over the Magic on Monday drew a 1.3 U.S. rating and 2.1 million viewers on TNT, down 44% and 43%, respectively, from Cavaliers/Lakers on Martin Luther King Day last year (2.3, 3.7 mil).
The game stands as TNT’s lowest rated, least-viewed Laker telecast of the season.
Magic/Lakers was the finale of a Martin Luther King Day tripleheader on TNT.
Earlier, the Mavericks’ win over the Celtics drew a 1.1 U.S. rating and 1.7 million viewers, down 8% and 13%, respectively, from Suns/Celtics last year (1.2, 1.9 mil).
The first game of the day, the Grizzlies’ win over the Suns, drew a 0.7 U.S. rating and 1 million viewers — up 17% in ratings from a 0.6 for Pistons/Grizzlies last year.
Overall, TNT’s Martin Luther King Day tripleheader averaged a 1.1 U.S. rating and 1.6 million viewers, down 21% in ratings and 27% in viewership from last year (1.4, 2.2 mil), but up 22% and 29%, respectively, from ’08 (0.9, 1.2 mil).
(Turner Sports)
