NBC's coverage of Sunday's Game Three of the NBA Finals
earned a 16.2 final rating with a 28 share, the second-
highest Game Three in Finals history, trailing only the '93
Suns-Bulls Final. NBC estimates that 52 million people
watched all or part of the action on Sunday. The 16.2 was
also 14% above last year's 14.2 Game Three rating. Among
the home markets, Game Three earned a 44.8/66 in Chicago and
a 41.1/66 in Salt Lake City. This year's three-game average
rating stands at an all-time high 17.0, which is 5% above
the previous three-game high of 16.2 set in '93. The 17.0
is also 13% above last year's 15.0 average rating after
three games (NBC). NBC won the week ended June 7, as the
first three games of the NBA Finals were the week's three
top-rated shows (WASHINGTON POST, 6/10). DAILY VARIETY's
Tom Bierbaum reports that among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a
6.4/20, which was down 3% from the same week last year, but
still double that of ABC's second-place 18-49 rating of
3.2/10. Bierbaum adds that counting the NBA pre-game shows,
NBC "had the week's 13 highest-rated programs in both adults
18-49 and total viewership, something no net had
accomplished in at least 10 years" (DAILY VARIETY, 6/10).
