The penultimate game of the Lakers’ season delivered a strong audience for ABC.
Saturday’s Nuggets-Lakers NBA Western Conference Finals Game 3 averaged a 4.3 rating and 8.38 million viewers on ABC, up 8% in ratings and 13% in viewership from Warriors-Mavericks on TNT last year (4.0, 7.42M) and the most-watched conference final Game 3 since 2011 (Bulls-Heat: 10.89M). Compared to last year’s conference final Game 3 on ABC, Heat-Celtics, ratings increased 19% and viewership 23% from a 3.6 and 6.81 million. Prior to last year, ABC had not carried a primetime conference final game since 2009.
Denver’s win, which peaked with 10.79 million from 10:45-11 PM ET, trails only last year’s Celtics-Heat Game 7 (9.88M) as the most-watched conference final game overall in the past five years.
Game 3 was the fifth of the postseason to average at least eight million viewers, the most in any postseason prior to the NBA Finals since 2018, when both conference finals went seven games (eight). It was the 12th game to average at least seven million, also the most prior to the Finals since 2018 (13).
The Lakers, whose season ended in Game 4 Monday night, have played in five of the seven most-watched games this postseason and nine of the top 12. That edges the Warriors, who played in four and eight, respectively. (Golden State, which lost to the Lakers in round two, played fewer games.)
Game 3 was also Saturday’s most-watched television program across all dayparts, marking the eighth time this postseason that an NBA game topped the charts. While it is a nearly nightly occurrence for the NBA Playoffs to win the night in the key young adult demographics — as Game 3 did in 18-49 (2.6), 18-34 (2.1) and 25-54 (2.9) — overall viewership wins are comparably rare.
In other conference final action, Miami’s 26-point blowout of Boston in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals averaged a 3.5 and 6.49 million on TNT Sunday night — down 3% in ratings and 5% in viewership from the same matchup on ABC last year (3.6, 6.81M). Compared to last year’s conference final Game 3 on TNT, Warriors-Mavericks, viewership fell 12 and 13 percent respectively.
Two of the first three Heat-Celtics games have declined from last year’s series between the same teams. Six of the last seven Miami Heat games have declined from the equivalent window a year ago, Game 2 against the Celtics being the exception.
As on Saturday, the NBA dominated the rest of television on Sunday in the key adult demographics — but it did not score an overall viewership win, trailing both “60 Minutes” on CBS (7.04M) and “American Idol” on ABC (6.62M).
(Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 5.23, PR)
