The final viewership tally for the recent Heat/Lakers game actually fell short of the record for the most-viewed non-Christmas regular season NBA game on ABC. In other news, ratings were flat for Bruins/Rangers on NBC, and the Missouri Valley Championship Game suffered declines.
- Heat/Lakers Final Viewership Falls Short of Record: The March 4 Heat/Lakers NBA regular season game on ABC drew a 4.3 final rating and 6.997 million viewers, short of the initial total (7.037M) reported last week. The 6.997 million viewers ranks as the second-largest audience ever for a non-Christmas regular season NBA game on ABC, trailing a January 2011 Celtics/Lakers game (7.003M). Earlier in the day, Knicks/Celtics drew a 3.3 and 4.996 million viewers, up 10% in ratings and 5% in viewership from last year (CHI/MIA: 3.0, 4.759M). Through March 4, ABC averaged a 3.9 rating and 6.638 million viewers, up 11% and 9%, respectively, from last year (3.5, 6.091M).
- Ratings Flat For NBC’s Bruins/Rangers Game: NBC drew a 0.8 final rating and 1.191 million viewers for the March 4 Bruins/Rangers NHL regular season game, flat in ratings and down 4% in viewership from last year (0.8, 1.245M), and down 20% and 17%, respectively, from 2010 (DET/CHI: 1.0, 1.430M).
- Ratings/Viewership Down For Missouri Valley Championship Game: The Illinois State/Creighton Missouri Valley Championship game drew a 1.0 final rating and 1.400 million viewers on CBS March 4, down 17% in ratings and 24% in viewership from last year (1.2, 1.843M), but up 11% and 14%, respectively, from 2010 (0.9, 1.226M).
(March 3-4 numbers from Media Life Magazine; NBA on ABC season average from ESPN)
