What a difference an NBA playoff game makes.
ABC averaged a whopping 4.5 rating/13 share in the 18-49 demo for Sunday night's coverage of the Boston Celtics' victory in Game 2 of the NBA finals, according to Nielsen overnight primetime ratings. And that was without the West Coast numbers that will likely boost that total.
For the previous Sunday, without basketball, ABC averaged a .9 rating in the 18-49 demo with an all-reality, all-repeat lineup.
ABC won every half hour of the night, and built its ratings over each half-hour from a 2.6/9 for Jimmy Kimmel-hosted pre-game special to a 6.3/16 at 10:30-11 as the Celtics came back in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to beat the Lakers.
ABC was followed by NBC with a 1.9/6 for its coverage of the Stanley Cup finals game; Fox with a 1.4/4; CBS with a 1.1/3; and The CW with a .4/1.
