After two straight nights of record ratings, the NBA Conference Finals cooled off slightly on Wednesday.
Game 5 between the Nuggets and Lakers drew a 5.6 U.S. rating (6.5 cable) and 9.2 million viewers on ESPN Wednesday night, up 33% in ratings and 44% in viewers from a 4.2 (4.9 cable) and 6.4 million for last year’s comparable Pistons/Celtics Game 5. The 9.2 million viewers is off from the 9.9 million Game 4 drew on Monday, but the game still finishes as the fourth-most viewed NBA Playoff game ever on cable.
Nuggets/Lakers continues a spectacular week for the NBA in the ratings department. The last five Conference Final games have drawn at least 8.7 million viewers, and the last three games have been three of the four most-viewed NBA Playoff games ever on cable. Both Game 4s — Lakers/Nuggets on Monday and Cavaliers/Magic on Tuesday — now rank as the two most-viewed programs of 2009 on cable television.
This also continues a spectacular run for ESPN. Over the past three weeks, the NBA Playoffs have accounted for the six most-viewed basketball games (college or pro) in the network’s 30-year history.
The Nuggets/Lakers Western Conference Final is averaging a 5.4 U.S. rating and 8.8 million viewers on ESPN and ABC, up 38% in ratings and 52% in viewers from a 3.9 and 5.8 million for the first five games of Celtics/Pistons last year, which also aired on ESPN/ABC.
Overall, the 2009 NBA Conference Finals has averaged a 5.3 U.S. rating and 8.6 million viewers, up 33% and 43%, respectively, from a 4.0 and 6 million through the same point in ’08. The 5.3 average also marks a whopping 83% increase from a 2.9 average through the comaprable point in ’07.
Sources: Sports Business Daily, ESPN
