ABC finished the NBA regular season on a lower note over the weekend. In other news, the season’s second edition of “MLB on FOX” had a double-digit drop in ratings, and the latest edition of the “NHL on NBC” hit a near season-low.
ABC Finishes NBA Season With Decline
- Last Sunday’s Bulls/Heat NBA regular season game on ABC earned a 2.1 final rating and 3.0 million viewers, down 9% in ratings and 13% in viewership from Bulls/Knicks on Masters Sunday last year (2.3, 3.4M), but up 5% and 2%, respectively, from Bulls/Magic in 2011 (2.0, 3.0M). Of the 15 NBA games on ABC this season, six earned a rating of 2.1 or lower — compared to four such telecasts in the previous two seasons combined. ABC’s final telecast of last season, a 3:30 PM ET game between the Thunder and Lakers, drew a 3.4 and 5.1 million. (Weekend numbers from Sports Business Daily)
Double-Digit Drop For Baseball on FOX
- Regional Major League Baseball action featuring Braves/Nationals scored a 1.8 final rating and 2.5 million viewers on FOX last Saturday afternoon, down 22% in ratings from coverage featuring Angels/Yankees last year (2.3), and down 31% and 36%, respectively, from coverage featuring Yankees/Red Sox in 2011 (2.6, 3.9M). (Weekend numbers from Sports Business Daily)
Another Small Audience For NHL on NBC
- NBC had another rough outing for NHL action. Last Sunday’s Blackhawks/Blues game drew a 0.7 final rating and 933,000 viewers on NBC, the network’s second-least viewed game of the season. Only Blues/Red Wings one week earlier (902K) earned a smaller audience. Including Rangers/Capitals on March 10 (959K), three of the last five NHL telecasts on NBC have had fewer than one million viewers. (Weekend numbers from Sports Business Daily)
