NBA FINALS JUMP THROUGH HOOPS FOR RATINGS

Ratings for almost everything else on television appear to be falling, but those for sports telecasts continue to improve, as the current numbers for ABC’s coverage of the 2012 NBA finals attest. All three of last week’s matches lined up at the top of the Nielsen ratings list for the week, with Thursday’s telecast of Game 2 coming out on top with 16.7 million viewers, followed by Tuesday’s Game 1 with 16.2 million and Sunday’s Game 3 with $15.5 million. NBC’s coverage of the U.S. Open Gold tournament also made the top-ten list, drawing 9.6 million viewers and winding up in seventh place. With ABC offering coverage of the NBA contests and NBC, the Stanley Cup Finals, their evening newscasts were trimmed to three nights. NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams remained on top with an average of 7.46 million viewers. ABC World News with Diane Sawyer placed second with 6.86 million, while the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley averaged 5.39 million viewers. For the week overall, ABC took the crown, thanks to its basketball telecasts with an average 5.2 household rating and a 9 share. NBC placed second with a 3.9/7; CBS placed third with a 3.7/6, followed by Fox with a 2.4/4.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research:
1. NBA Finals — Game 2, ABC, 10.4/18; 2. NBA Finals — Game 1, ABC, 9.9/16; 3. NBA Finals — Game 3, ABC, 8.8/15; 4. America’s Got Talent (Tuesday), NBC, 6.5/10; 5. Megastunts, ABC, 6.2/11; 6. NCIS, CBS, 6.1/10; 7. U.S. Open Golf — Sunday NBC, 6.0/12; 8. The Bachelorette, ABC, 5.2/9; 9. The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 5.1/9; 10. 60 Minutes, CBS, 4.8/10.