ABC’s hopes for another week of unbeatable basketball ratings were quashed on Friday night with the swift end of 2018 NBA Finals.
Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors earned their most decisive victory yet, wrapping the series against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a four-game sweep. Friday’s ratings seem to have been somewhat softened by the inevitability. With a score of 108-85, Game 4 delivered a 11.2 overnight rating among metered market households. That was easily the lowest-rated game of the series, falling 12 percent from the game two nights prior. It was a drop of 11 percent from the comparable game in the 2017 NBA Finals, one that ultimately averaged 19 million viewers.
Across the four nights of play, the NBA finals averaged a 12.2 rating among metered market households. It’s an uptick from what the first four games typically pull, though last year hit a substantial peak with its Game 5 conclusion.
Game 3 on Wednesday attracted 17.9 million viewers, with the first three games averaging just shy of 18 million viewers. That average may very will diminish when Friday’s softer wrap-up is included.
