Without a triumphant Tiger Woods, NBC saw a ratings shank for its U.S. Open coverage on Sunday, following Friday night's solid finish for the NBA final series.
The non-climactic round of the U.S. Open Sunday produced a 7.0 rating, 17 share in Nielsen overnight ratings, a 20% drop from last year's 8.8/21, when Tiger was atop the leader board. Meanwhile, the finals series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA playoffs produced a 12.1/22, the highest average national rating for an NBA finals series since Michael Jordan's swansong in 1998, which produced an 18.7/33.
The five-game average was a 4% increase over the Lakers-Indiana Pacers' 11.6/21 average last year. Friday night's fifth game Lakers victory hit a 11.2/22, 12% above last year's 10.0/20 in game five of the finals. - Richard Tedesco
