Ratings are down, but viewership is up for the 2009 NBA Finals.
The Lakers’ overtime win over the Magic drew an 8.2/14 rating and 14.1 million viewers on ABC Sunday night, down 4% in ratings but up 4% in viewers from an 8.5/15 and 13.5 million for Lakers/Celtics Game 2 in ’08. The 14.1 million viewers is the most for a Game 2 in the NBA Finals since 2004.
Through two games, the Magic/Lakers NBA Finals is averaging an 8.0 rating and 13.6 million viewers on ABC, down 7% in ratings but up 1% in viewers from an 8.6 and 13.5 million last year.
The 13.6 million viewers is the highest average through the first two games of the NBA Finals since 2004.
Magic/Lakers is also up 33% and 53%, respectively, from a 6.0 and 8.9 million through two games of Cavaliers/Spurs in ’07, and up 1% and 13%, respectively, from a 7.9 and 12 million for Heat/Mavericks in ’06.
Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals finished as the highest rated, most viewed programs of the week on broadcast, but did not blow away the competition. The season finale of Law and Order SVU — pushed to the first week of June so NBC could promote The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien — drew a 7.7/13 rating, nearly matching the 7.8/14 for Game 1 of the Finals.
The NBA did dominate among adults 18-49, as Games 1 and 2 drew ratings of 5.4 and 5.8, respectively, in the demo. To put that in perspective, the highest rated non-NBA program in the demo drew a 3.5.
