ABC earned a 14.2 overnight rating last night for the Cavaliers' 112-97 win over the Warriors in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, tying last year's Warriors-Cavs matchup as the highest-rated Game 5 since the Pistons-Lakers clincher in '04 drew a 15.5. Last year's Game 5 was played on a Sunday night. Last night's game peaked at a 16.2 rating between 11:30-11:45pm ET and is projected to give ABC a win in primetime for the 53rd consecutive night in which it aired a Finals game. Cleveland led all markets with a 38.5 local rating, followed by S.F.-Oakland-San Jose (36.9) and Sacramento (20.4). The number for S.F.-Oakland-San Jose makes last night the second-highest rated game ever in the market on ABC. The game also generated a record 1.19 million viewers on the WatchESPN app (THE DAILY).
JIMMY'S JAZZED: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Michael O'Connell wrote ABC "has multiple reasons to be thankful" for the Finals, as they have "been a boon" to "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Kimmel typically "sees season highs with his annual basketball lead-in, but he's yet to see a ratings boost as big as the one he got on Friday night." The show "hit an all-time best for the episode, which followed game four of the NBA Finals." It was the "best showing Kimmel has ever gotten outside of primetime," and also matches the "comparable high of head-to-head competitor Stephen Colbert" on CBS (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 6/13).
