TV Ratings
For more details on this topic, see National Basketball Association Nielsen ratings.| Year | Season | Playoff | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-03 | 2.6 | 4.8 | 6.5 |
| 2003-04 | 2.4 | 4.5 | 11.5 |
| 2004-05 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 8.2 |
| 2005-06 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 8.5 |
| 2006-07 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 6.2 |
| 2007-08 | 2.2 | 9.3 | |
| 2008-09 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 8.4 |
| 2009-10 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 10.6 |
ABC's ratings for the NBA Playoffs and Finals have been lower than NBC's ratings. In its last year televising the NBA, 2002, NBC experienced a growth in playoff ratings, leading to the highest rated Western Conference Final in league history, and a 14.2 rating for Game 7 of that series, which featured the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings. ABC's highest rating overall is an 18.2 which came in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Boston Celtics; being watched by 28.2 million viewers, it is the highest-rated and most-watched NBA game since Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, which had a 22.3 rating and drew 72 million viewers. Regular season ratings fell to 2.2 in 2005 and then again in 2006; that rating is less than half of what NBC averaged in the 1999 lockout-shortened regular season. The 2007 Finals, a series featuring the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers, was the lowest rated Finals in league history, with a 6.2 rating and 11 share. This is perhaps attributed to the small-market representation and the four game series, in which San Antonio easily defeated Cleveland. Ratings have rebounded somewhat in 2008, with the Lakers-Nuggets Game 1 drawing a 3.5 rating, the highest rating since 2003.
Read more about this topic: NBA On ABC