A second-straight blowout in the NBA Finals led to a second-straight decline in the metered markets.
Game 3 of the Warriors/Cavaliers NBA Finals had an 11.8 overnight rating on ABC Wednesday night, down 14% from the same matchup last year (13.7) but up 15% from Spurs/Heat in 2014 (10.3). Despite the drop, it still tied the third-best overnight for Game 3 of the NBA Finals since Lakers/Sixers in 2001, matching Lakers/Nets in 2002.
Only last year’s game and Pistons/Lakers in 2004 (12.6) put up a higher overnight over that span.
The Cavaliers’ 30-point win peaked at a 13.4 from 10:15-10:30 PM ET, three points lower than last year’s peak of 16.4. Last year’s game went down to the final seconds. It tied Sunday’s Game 2 as the lowest rated of the nine Warriors/Cavaliers NBA Finals games and was the second-straight to decline from the previous year — after each of the first seven hit multi-year highs.
Demoralized after two blowout losses in Oakland, the Cleveland market continued to trail last year. Game 3 had a series-high 36.7 rating locally, but that was down 25% from last year’s 49.0, still the market’s highest NBA rating on ESPN/ABC. In the Bay Area, ratings dropped 3% from last year (31.6 to 30.7).
Columbus, OH, was the third-highest rated market with a 17.6, followed by Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (16.7). Though Miami has been positioned as “Team Petty” — watching the NBA Finals only to root against LeBron James — it should be noted that the Cavaliers’ rout had a bigger rating there than the Warriors’ blowout three nights earlier (15.9). San Antonio rounded out the top five (16.2).
(Wed. numbers from ESPN)
