The NBA Finals has been a very consistent television draw thus far.
Game 3 of the Spurs/Heat NBA Finals earned a 9.0 final rating and 14.8 million viewers on ABC Tuesday night, up 6% in ratings and 5% in viewership from the same match-up last year (8.5, 14.0M) and up 2% and down 5%, respectively, from Thunder/Heat opposite the U.S. Open in 2012 (8.8, 15.5M).
All three games of the Spurs/Heat series have earned a 9.0 rating thus far. The series ranks as only the second NBA Finals since 2004 in which each of the first three games drew a rating of 9.0 or better.
Like Game 2, Tuesday’s game ranks as the second-least watched Game 3 of the past five years but the fifth-most watched since ABC resumed airing the NBA Finals. This is ABC’s twelfth season carrying the NBA, matching predecessor NBC. The lowest Game 3 rating on NBC — a 10.2 for Lakers/Nets in 2002 — has been exceeded only once by ABC (Lakers/Pistons Game 3 in 2004 had a 10.5 rating).
Among adults 18-49, Game 3 earned a 5.9 rating — up a tick from last year (5.8) but down 8% from 2012 (6.5). The rating among adults 18-34 was also a 5.9, down a tick from last year (6.0) and down 13% from 2012 (6.8).
Through three games, the Spurs/Heat series has averaged a 9.0 rating and 14.9 million viewers on ABC — up 5% in ratings and viewership from last year (8.6, 14.3M) but down 7% in both measures from Heat/Thunder in 2012 (9.7, 16.1M). The series has also averaged a 6.0 rating among adults 18-49, up 3% from last year (5.8) and down 12% from 2012 (6.8).
(Tue. numbers from ESPN Media Zone, ABC Media Net)
