UPDATED: 5:20 p.m. ET
ABC cruised to an easy win on Thursday with its coverage of
the seventh and final game of the 2013 NBA Finals, drawing an overall 6.9
rating/22 share in primetime with adults 18-49, according to Nielsen.
The Miami Heat's victory for the NBA title over the San
Antonio Spurs drew ABC's second-high audience since
it began airing the league with the 2002-03 season with 26.3 million total viewers, up 28% over Tuesday. The 26.3 million was only topped by the last Game 7 in 2010 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, which drew 28.2 million.
With adults 18-49, the game drew a 10.6, up 23% from Tuesday. As a whole, the seven-game series averaged 17.7 million total viewers,
up 5% over last year's five-game Finals and the second-most watched
series since 2004.
Earlier, Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night was even with Tuesday's 1.2 in the demo and Kia NBA Countdown rose 25% to a 2.5.
NBC aired the season finale of Hannibal, which rose a tenth from last week's low to a 0.8. NBC finished with a fourth-place 0.6/2.
Fox came in second (1.4/5) as Hell's Kitchen
was even with a 2.0 and Does Someone Have to Go? remained even with
last week's 0.9.
