Airing the NBA opposite the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years, ABC struggled in the overnights.
The Rockets/Wizards NBA regular season game earned a 1.4 overnight rating on ABC Sunday afternoon, matching Heat/Pistons in 2009 as the network’s lowest rated NBA game in the metered markets since Suns/Kings in 2007 (1.2). Suns/Kings finished as the lowest rated NBA game ever on broadcast television, with a 1.0 final rating.
Rockets/Wizards was the first NBA game on ABC to air opposite the NCAA Tournament since 2009. It was added to the schedule to replace the February 22 Cavaliers/Knicks game, which ABC dumped due to New York’s poor record.
The game was of course no match for NCAA Tournament coverage on CBS, which earned overnights of 7.6 and 9.9. Even the Road to the Final Four pregame show, which overlapped with the game for 75 minutes, earned a higher overnight (1.9).
(Sun. overnight from ESPN; additional info from Sports Business Daily)
