Overnight Ratings: NBA Returns Strong On ABC; UFC On Fox Down From December

ABC earned a 4.9 overnight Nielsen rating for Thunder-Lakers yesterday afternoon, marking the net’s fourth-best regular-season game (non-Christmas Day) on record. The game also drew a big number in Oklahoma City, with the market earning an 18.9 local rating, which is the net’s second-best NBA regular-season figure. Meanwhile, the Celtics' double-OT win over the Heat in ABC’s early NBA window yesterday earned a 3.8 overnight.

FIGHT NIGHT: “UFC on Fox 6” earned a 2.6 overnight on Saturday from 8:00-10:15pm ET, down from a 2.8 rating for the net’s fifth UFC telecast on Dec. 10. However, the figure is up from a 1.7 overnight for “UFC on Fox 4,” which aired in August up against the London Games. The 2.6 rating ranks the third-best of the six overnights for UFC telecasts on Fox. The top-rated event remains the first telecast in November ’11, which drew a 3.5 overnight for the hour-long telecast.

DOWN UNDER: ESPN earned a 0.5 overnight for the live telecast of Novak Djokovic’s win over Andy Murray in the Australian Open men’s final on Sunday from 3:00-7:45am. That figure is down slightly from a 0.6 for Djokovic’s win over Rafael Nadal on ESPN2 last year. Meanwhile, ESPN earned a 0.5 overnight for Victoria Azarenka’s win over Li Na in the women’s final on Saturday, up from a 0.3 for Azarenka’s win over Maria Sharapova on ESPN2 last year.

X MARKS THE SPOT: The Winter X Games yesterday returned to broadcast TV, with ABC earning a 0.9 overnight for coverage from 4:00-6:00pm. However, that figure was topped by last night’s coverage on ESPN, which earned a 1.2 overnight from 9:15-11:15pm.

The chart below lists overnight Nielsen ratings from weekend sports telecasts on broadcast TV.

NOTES: * = Fog forced cancellation of Farmers Insurance Open third-round play on Saturday. Play resumed Sunday, but the final round concluded on Golf Channel and CBS on Monday.