ABC Continues to Ride NBA Finals Ratings Wave with Laker’s Game 6 Victory
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Game 6 of the NBA picked up where the first five games left off for ABC, notching a 12.3 overnight rating and propelling the network to win the night in prime time for the sixth straight game. Tuesday’s Game 6 broadcast of the Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers was the highest-rated show of the night for all of television, as was the case for the previous five games.
The Lakers’ 89-67 victory forced a decisive Game 7 – only the third NBA Finals Game 7 in the last 22 years – on Thursday, June 17, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
Through five games of national ratings, The Finals have averaged 16,155,000 viewers and a 9.6 rating, the highest five-game averages since 2004 (Pistons/Lakers). The Finals’ viewership is up 13 percent (vs. 14,347,000 viewers) and ratings are up 14 percent (vs. 8.4) vs. last year (Lakers/Magic).