Primetime Ratings: NBA Finals Paces ABC to Easy Sunday Win

Series on track to be network's second-highest rated Finals ever

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/18/2012 12:04:15 PM

The Miami Heat's 91-85 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the 2012 NBA Finals paced ABC to the Sunday ratings win with an overall 4.8 rating/14 share in the 18-49 demo, according to Nielsen overnight numbers. The game drew a 10.4 overnight rating, down 12% from Thursday, and a fast-affiliate rating of 5.6 from 8-11 p.m. Earlier, Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night drew a 1.9, down two tenths from Thursday and Kia NBA Countdown posted a 2.6, down 16%. (Due to the nature of live events, ratings are subjected to higher-than-normal adjustments.)

The series is on track to be ABC's second-highest rated NBA Finals since it acquired the broadcast rights from NBC in 2002.

NBC finished in second with its coverage of the 2012 U.S. Open Golf Championship, which drew a fast-affiliate rating of 2.3 from 7-10:30 p.m. NBC finished with a 2.1/6 overall.

Fox (1.2/4) and CBS (0.8/2) aired repeats to round out the night.