Two consecutive blowouts have certainly not helped the ratings for the 2013 NBA Finals.
Game 3 of the Heat/Spurs NBA Finals drew an 8.5 final rating and 14.1 million viewers on ABC Tuesday night, down 3% in ratings and 9% in viewership from Thunder/Heat Game 3 opposite the U.S. Open last year (8.8, 15.5M), and down 7% and 8%, respectively, from Heat/Mavericks Game 3 in 2011 (9.1, 15.3M).
Tuesday’s game ranks as the lowest rated and least-viewed Game 3 of the NBA Finals since Spurs/Cavaliers in 2007 (6.4, 9.5M). The previous six-year lows were an 8.6 and 14.2 million for Lakers/Magic in 2009.
Overall, Game 3 tied the lowest rating for any NBA Finals game since Lakers/Magic Game 5 in 2009 (8.4), matching Sunday’s Game 2.
After 17 straight NBA Finals games earned at least 15 million viewers on ABC, the first three games of Spurs/Heat have failed to hit that mark.
Despite the relatively low numbers, Tuesday’s game still earned the best Game 3 numbers for an NBA Finals involving the Spurs since 1999 (12.1, 17.0M).
Among adults 18-49, Heat/Spurs Game 3 drew a 5.8 rating — down 11% from last year (6.5), down 5% from 2011 (6.1), and the lowest Game 3 rating in the demo since 2007 (3.8). Game 3 did hit a series high among adults 18-34 (6.0), though the demo rating was still down 12% from last year (6.8).
(Tuesday’s numbers from ESPN, ABC Media Net)
