SportsBusiness Daily — Sports Business Resources — your sports business news and information source. Learn More
Advanced
Home About Us Advertise With Us Marketplace/Classifieds College & University Program Subscribe/Trial My Account

Thursday
June 19, 2008
Print This Issue


 
MOST VIEWED STORIES
View the top 20 stories
 
Recent Issues
Sports Media

Celtics-Lakers Finals Coverage Averages Highest Rating Since '04

ABC Averages 9.3 Rating
For Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals

ABC's coverage of the six game Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals averaged a 9.3 rating and 14.9 million viewers, making it the highest-rated and most-viewed Finals since Pistons-Lakers in '04 earned an 11.4 rating. The Celtics-Lakers series also is up 50.0% over a 6.2 for last year's four-game Spurs-Cavaliers Finals. ABC for the week ending June 15 topped all broadcast nets in adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. ABC Tuesday for Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals Game Six drew a 10.7 rating and 16,878,000 viewers, marking the highest-rated and most-viewed Finals Game Six since the Lakers-Pacers in '00 drew a 14.7 rating and 22,396,000 viewers. Viewership for Celtics-Lakers Game Six was up 7.4% over the 15,710,000 viewers for Heat-Mavericks Game Six in '06, and Tuesday's game ranked as the most-viewed TV program across all broadcast nets for the night. The game topped all shows in adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. ABC for the sixth consecutive NBA Finals broadcast led all broadcast nets for the night (THE DAILY). The following chart lists game-by-game ratings for this year's NBA Finals, with comparisons to last year's four-game set:

NBA FINALS RATINGS ON ABC: '08 VS. '07
GM
DATE
DAY
RAT.
% +/-
VIEWERS (000)
% +/-
1
6/5
Thurs.
8.7
38.1%
13,384
45.4%
2
6/8
Sun.
8.5
51.8%
13,491
57.8%
3
6/10
Tues.
9.2
43.8%
14,509
52.9%
4
6/12
Thus.
8.7
33.8%
13,762
40.4%
5
6/15
Sun.
10.1
n/a
17,257
n/a
6
6/17
Tues.
10.7
n/a
16,878
n/a
'08 AVG. (Six Games)
9.3
50.0%
14,946
60.9%

The NBA Finals on ABC also has six of the ten most-watched programs this month. The following lists the most-viewed programs on network television in June to date.

MOST-VIEWED NETWORK TV PROGRAMS IN JUNE TO DATE
RANK
SHOW
NET
RATING
VIEWERS (MILLIONS)
1
NBA Finals: Celtics-Lakers: Game Five
ABC
10.2
17.4
2
NBA Finals: Lakers-Celtics: Game Six
ABC
10.7
16.9
3
NBA Finals: Celtics-Lakers: Game Three
ABC
9.2
14.5
4
NBA Finals: Celtics-Lakers: Game Four
ABC
8.7
13.8
5
NBA Finals: Lakers-Celtics: Game Two
ABC
8.5
13.5
6
NBA Finals: Lakers-Celtics: Game One
ABC
8.7
13.4
7
Belmont Stakes
ABC
8.2
13.1
8
"America's Got Talent"
ABC
7.8
12.8
9
U.S. Open: Final Round
NBC
7.5
12.0
10
"Two and a Half Men"
CBS
6.9
10.7

Get A Free Trial To SportsBusiness Daily

Reader Comments

To post comments on this article, log in or register for a free trial.

Related Stories By Company Related Stories By Sport
NBPA Says Total Player Compensation Down
November 20, 2009 : SportsBusiness Daily

NBA Hires Mutombo As Global Ambassador
November 16, 2009 : SportsBusiness Daily

Nets To N.Y. Not Necessity For Prokhorov
November 16, 2009 : SportsBusiness Daily

LeBron Says He May Switch To No. 6 Jersey
November 13, 2009 : SportsBusiness Daily

NBA Digital Launches NBA TV Companion
November 12, 2009 : SportsBusiness Daily

Ticket Package Offered For Flyers, 76ers
November 20, 2009 : SportsBusiness Daily

NBPA Says Total Player Compensation Down
November 20, 2009 : SportsBusiness Daily

Magic Johnson, Cisco Team For Initiative
November 19, 2009 : SportsBusiness Daily

Nets Finding Unique Ways To Draw Fans
November 19, 2009 : SportsBusiness Daily

Grizzlies Optimistic Despite AI Departure
November 18, 2009 : SportsBusiness Daily

ALSO IN THIS SECTION


A Publication of Street & Smith's Sports Group.
Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (REVISED 2009-06-23) and Privacy Policy (REVISED 2009-06-23).

© 2009 Street & Smith's Sports Group and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Street & Smith's Sports Group.