Another NBA Finals blowout, but this time in the other direction, delivered strong numbers for ABC.
Friday’s Warriors-Cavaliers NBA Finals Game 4 earned a 12.6 overnight rating on ABC, up 5% from last year (12.0), but down 9% from 2015 (13.9), both of which featured the same two teams. The 2015 game aired on a Thursday night.
The 12.6 overnight trails only 2015 as the highest for Game 4 of the NBA Finals since Lakers-Pistons in 2004 (14.4), no small feat given the Friday night timeslot.
Friday night games are rare in big time sports TV. Out of the NBA Finals, World Series and Stanley Cup Final, there have been just ten games on the night in the past 14 years. Of those ten, last night’s game was the second-highest rated in the metered markets, behind Game 7 of the 2011 World Series (16.3).
The Cavaliers’ win peaked at a 14.9 from 11:15-11:30 PM ET, up a tick from last year’s peak of 14.8 (11:30-11:45), but down 7% from the 2015 peak of 16.0 (11:15-11:30).
Cleveland was Friday’s top market with a 35.5 rating, down 5% from last year (37.4) and down 22% from 2015 (45.7). The Bay Area turned in a 32.1, up 9% from last year (31.8) and up 5% from ’15 (30.5). Columbus, Ohio (18.9), Sacramento (16.8), and Memphis (16.5) rounded out the top five.
[Fri. numbers from ESPN PR 6.10]
