Capping off what will likely be the lowest rated NBA season ever on broadcast television, the finale of ABC’s NBA Saturday Primetime was a weak draw in the metered markets.
Clippers-Spurs earned a 1.4 overnight rating on ABC’s NBA Saturday Primetime over the weekend, down 13% from Cavaliers-Bulls last year (1.6), no small achievement given last year’s game was cannibalized by competing coverage of the Warriors’ 71st win of the season on ESPN (1.7).
The Clippers’ win was the fifth NBA telecast on ABC this season with less than a 1.5 overnight, more than the previous ten seasons combined (four).
After scoring a 4.1 overnight for Warriors-Thunder in February, the highest for any non-Christmas regular season game since 2013, ABC failed to crack a 2.0 for nine of its ten subsequent NBA telecasts. The lone exception was Warriors-Knicks in early March (2.6).
Notably, Saturday’s game featured all of the relevant stars on a pair of perennial playoff teams.
(Wknd. numbers from ESPN)
