Despite NCAA Tournament competition, the NBA’s two best teams did quite well for ABC.
The Warriors/Spurs NBA regular season game scored a 3.7 overnight rating on ABC Saturday night, up 85% from Thunder/Spurs the previous week (2.0) and up 164% from Rockets/Bulls two weeks prior (1.4). Excluding Christmas, the 3.7 is tied as the second-highest for any NBA game over the past three years — matching Cavaliers/Rockets last year and behind only Warriors/Thunder on ABC last month (3.9).
The 3.7 is the highest for an NBA game opposite the NCAA Tournament in 14 years, since Lakers/Kings on NBC in March 2002 (4.0). The previous high over that span was a 3.1 for Lakers/Spurs in 2003. Last year, ABC’s lone game during the tournament — Rockets/Wizards on a Sunday afternoon — had a 1.4.
Overnights for the competing NCAA Tournament games were not immediately available.
(Sat. numbers from ESPN)
