The strength of the NBA Western Conference has led to higher ratings for ABC.
The Phoenix Suns’ 94-87 victory over the San Antonio Spurs drew a 2.6 overnight on ABC, up 73% from the 1.5 Nuggets/Kings drew on the comparable date last year. Keep in mind last year’s Nuggets/Kings game aired on college basketball’s Selection Sunday.
Excluding Christmas, ABC is averaging a 2.7 overnight rating for 9 NBA telecasts, up 4% from a 2.6 for 10 games last year.
The 2.6 overnight for Spurs/Suns comes on the heels of a minor milestone for the NBA on ABC last Sunday.
The Mavericks/Lakers game on March 2 drew a 3.0 final national rating, the highest for a non-Christmas NBA regular season game in over three years. Excluding games on Christmas, ABC had not drawn a 3.0 final rating for a regular season game since Lakers/Cavaliers drew a 3.1 on February 13, 2005.
