ABC Earns 12.1 Overnight For Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals Game Five
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ABC's Game Five Overnight Rating Up
19.8% From Comparable Game In '06 |
ABC last night for Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals Game Five, which the Lakers won 103-98 to cut the Celtics' series lead to 3-2, earned a 12.1 overnight Nielsen rating, up 19.8% over the comparable '06 Heat-Mavericks Game Five. The '07 Spurs-Cavaliers NBA Finals went just four games. The 12.1 is the highest NBA Finals overnight since a 13.8 for Game Seven of Spurs-Pistons in '05. Last night's game earned a 27.8 in L.A. and a 29.2 in Boston. Meanwhile, ABC Thursday for Celtics-Lakers Game Four led all broadcast nets in adults 18-49 for the eighth week in a row, the net's longest Thursday winning streak in more than 16 years. Additionally, the NBA section on ESPN.com Thursday drew nearly 7.3 million page views, up 192% over the comparable day last year. The site's NBA section through Game Four was averaging 5.6 million page views, a 92% gain over '07 (THE DAILY). The chart below lists game-by-game ratings and viewers for the NBA Finals, as well as the four-game average, with comparisons to last season's Spurs-Cavaliers matchup (THE DAILY).
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NBA FINALS RATINGS ON ABC: '08 VS. '07
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GM
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DATE
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DAY
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RAT.
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% +/-
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VIEWERS (000)
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% +/-
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1
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6/5
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Thurs.
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8.7
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38.1%
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13,384
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45.4%
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2
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6/8
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Sun.
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8.5
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51.8%
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13,491
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57.8%
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3
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6/10
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Tue.
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9.2
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43.8%
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14,509
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52.9%
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4
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6/12
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Thus.
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8.7
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33.8%
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13,762
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40.4%
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FOUR-GAME AVG.
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8.8
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41.9%
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13,791
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48.4%
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FINALS FAILING TO LAUNCH: In Dallas, Barry Horn wrote ESPN/ABC and the NBA "dreamed of a return to double-digit ratings" with Lakers-Celtics, but the numbers "have been a disappointment." Horn: "America knew Michael Jordan. Apparently, [Lakers G] Kobe Bryant is no Michael Jordan" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/14). NBA Commissioner David Stern said, "We think we have a bigger audience overall. The ratings for network television in the last four years are down 20[%] -- that's for all network TV -- and it would be unusual for sports in entirety if it were not down. We're up this year. But that doesn't [mean] we won't be down next year" (SI.com, 6/13).
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