The NBA on ABC returned with strong numbers last week.
Sunday’s Thunder/Lakers NBA regular season game earned a 3.9 final rating and 6.3 million viewers on ABC, up 11% in ratings and viewership from Bulls/Heat last year (3.5, 5.7M), but down 9% and 10%, respectively, from Celtics/Lakers in 2011 (4.3, 7.0M).
Excluding Christmas Day games, the 3.9 final rating is the third-highest for a regular season NBA telecast on ABC since the network resumed airing games in the 2002-03 season.
Earlier in the day, Heat/Celtics drew a 3.0 and 4.618 million viewers — up 20% in ratings and 22% in viewership from Heat/Thunder in 2011 (2.5, 3.8M). There was no comparable telecast last year.
10 Highest Rated NBA Regular Season Games on ABC
Excluding Christmas Day games
|
#
|
Date
|
Away |
Home
|
Net
|
Rating |
Viewers (000)
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Sun., 1/30/11 | Celtics | Lakers | ABC |
4.3
|
7.0M
|
| T1 | Sun., 3/4/12 | Heat | Lakers | ABC |
4.3
|
7.0M
|
| 3 | Sun., 1/27/13 | Thunder | Lakers | ABC |
3.9
|
6.3M
|
| T4 | Sun., 2/8/09 | Lakers | Cavaliers | ABC |
3.8
|
6.1M
|
| T4 | Sun., 2/19/12 | Mavericks | Knicks | ABC |
3.8
|
5.9M
|
| T6 | Sun., 1/29/12 | Bulls | Heat | ABC |
3.5
|
5.7M
|
| T6 | Sun., 1/31/10 | Lakers | Celtics | ABC |
3.5
|
5.7M
|
| T6 | Sun., 2/13/11 | Lakers | Magic | ABC |
3.5
|
5.6M
|
| T6 | Sun., 4/4/04 | Spurs | Lakers | ABC |
3.5
|
5.1M
|
| T6 | Sun., 3/16/03 | Spurs | Kings | ABC |
3.5
|
4.7M
|
(Sunday’s numbers from ESPN)
