NBA Finals Game 4 Dominates Ratings On Rerun-Heavy Friday

UPDATE 11:30 AM: Friday night’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals averaged a total live audience of 19 million viewers on ABC. The total live viewership for the game was 19.4 million, including streaming, up 15% from 2016.

Through four games, the NBA Finals is averaging a total live audience (TV plus streaming) of 19.8 million, up 12% from last year and the most watched series since 1998.

PREVIOUS 9:30 AM: Once again, the NBA Finals were the only game in town on Friday. Game 4, in which the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors 137-116, delivered a 12.6 metered market rating. That was the second lowest in the series so far (12.4 for Game 1, 12.7 for Game 2, 13.4 for Game 3), which is normal as this is the first game this year to air on the low-trafficked Friday night. Versus Game 4 last year, which also aired on Friday, last night’s face-off was up 5%.

White this year’s NBA Finals took a different trajectory that last year’s between the same teams, it is exactly at the same point after 4 games, with the Warriors leading 3-1.

The 2017 NBA Finals is currently averaging a 12.8 metered market rating through four games, up 5% from a 12.2 in 2016.

ABC is expected to win Friday by a landslide. In the non-time zone adjusted fast nationals, the NBA Finals Game 4 is averaging 15 million viewers and a 5.5 adults 18-49 rating, with Jimmy Kimmel’s pre-show drawing 9 million viewers and a 2.8 in 18-49.

The highest rated programs on the other broadcast networks last night were NBC’s Dateline (0.9 in 18-49, off a tenth from last week) and a repeat of CBS’ Blue Bloods (5.26 million).

Besides Dateline, the only originals last night were the CW dramas The Originals (0.3 in 18-49) and Reign (0.2), both steady week-to-week.

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