NBA title contenders could not move the needle much opposite college basketball’s Championship Week.
The Cavaliers/Clippers NBA regular season game drew a 2.1 overnight rating on ABC Sunday afternoon, down a tick from Rockets/Clippers last year (2.2) and down 19% from Rockets/Heat in 2014 (2.6). The 2.1 is the lowest for an NBA game on ABC involving LeBron James since April 2009, falling below the previous low of 2.5.
The 2.1 is also the lowest for the NBA on Selection Sunday in five years, since Magic/Suns in 2011 (1.7). Head-to-head, Cleveland’s blowout win trailed competing coverage of the Big Ten Tournament final on CBS (2.4).
The previous night, Thunder/Spurs drew a 2.0 overnight on ABC’s NBA Saturday Primetime — up 43% from Rockets/Bulls the previous week (1.4) but down 49% from Warriors/Thunder two weeks earlier (3.9). The 2.0 overnight is the second-lowest for the Saturday night package this year (six telecasts), ahead of only the Rockets/Bulls game.
The Spurs’ win did top its college basketball competition, edging the ACC Tournament final on ESPN (1.8).
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily)
