ABC earned a 13.7 overnight rating last night for the Cavaliers' 96-91 win over the Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, marking the net's highest-rated Game 3 since it acquired rights before the '02-03 season. ABC's previous Game 3 record was a 12.4 overnight in '04 for Pistons-Lakers on a Thursday night. Last night's rating is up 33% from a 10.3 overnight for last year's Spurs-Heat Game 3. Warriors-Cavaliers Game 3 is expected to help ABC to a 45th consecutive win in primetime for nights in which it aired a Finals game. It peaked at a 16.4 rating between 11:30-11:45pm ET. The Cleveland-Akron market set another record with a 49.0 local rating, while S.F.-Oakland-San Jose drew a 31.6 overnight. Through three games, this series is on pace to be ABC/ESPN's top-rated Finals on record. Meanwhile, NBA TV's "NBA GameTime Live at The Finals" pre- and postgame studio coverage over the last week is up 34% among total viewers from '14. Also, since the start of the Finals, NBA Digital's cross platform video views and page views are up 19% and 8%, respectively, compared with the same period last year. NBA Mobile has generated increases of 66% in video views, 34% in page views and 11% among visits over the corresponding date range last year (Josh Carpenter, Staff Writer).
DWYANE'S WORLD: SPORTING NEWS' Max Bultman writes ESPN "knew what it was doing" when it added Heat G Dwyane Wade to its panel of analysts for the NBA Finals. During last night's Game 3 postgame show, Wade sat alongside host John Anderson for an on-set interview of Cavaliers F LeBron James, and "it was an extraordinary one." Wade "took center stage," using his history with James "to his advantage." Wade "knows James better than anyone who's ever interviewed him, except maybe ESPN's Brian Windhorst." James "gave Wade answers that he normally doesn't give, especially not in the middle of a series." James' comments "were a rare peek into his head, his unfiltered thoughts, and Wade seemed to be the reason he made them." Bultman: "That simplicity, that honesty, that's a feel Wade coaxed out of him." James was "much more relaxed on ESPN, more open, than he was five minutes later, at his press conference." James "controls the narratives in those settings." He "plays up his teammates and keeps his mind, and the media's, on the moment," but Wade "changed that" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 6/10).
