Fast National ratings for Sunday, June 7, 2015.
For the first time in NBA history, the Finals started with consecutive overtime games and the showdown between the Cavaliers and Warriors produced a second consecutive primetime domination for ABC on Sunday night.
ABC is estimating that this will be the highest-rated NBA Finals Game 2 ever on the network and posted 26 percent gains over last year's Game 2. These Fast National numbers, of course, reflect time period data and, as always, are extra imprecise when one of the competing teams has a fan homebase on the West Coast.
Sunday night's other notable was CBS' broadcast of the 69th Tony Awards, which dipped from last year both overall and among young viewers, falling by 25 percent in the key demo.
Also down on Sunday were NBC's “A.D. The Bible Continues,” which hit a series low, and “American Odyssey.”
Let's get to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 5.3 rating for Sunday night, more than doubling the combined total for the competition in the key demographic. CBS was second with a 0.9 key demo rating, followed by NBC's 0.7 key demo rating and the 0.6 key demo rating for FOX for the night.
Overall, ABC averaged an estimated 13.865 million viewers and a 7.9 rating/14 share for Sunday primetime, still doubling up the 6.81 million viewers and 4.5/8 for CBS on the night. NBC was third with 4.06 million viewers and a 2.6/5, followed by FOX's 1.49 million viewers and a 0.9/2.
7 p.m. – ABC's 7 p.m. block, which included a Jimmy Kimmel special, NBA pregame and the actual basketball game for some of the country averaged 8.59 million viewers and a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49 to rule the hour. CBS was a close second overall with 8.2 million viewers for “60 Minutes,” finishing a distant second with a 0.9 key demo rating. NBC's “Dateline” averaged 4.59 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating, topping the 1.25 million viewers and 0.5 key demo rating for FOX's two “Bob's Burgers” repeats.
8 p.m. – Cavaliers-Warriors coverage averaged 14.42 million viewers and a 5.4 rating among adults 18-49 to lead the 8 p.m. hour for ABC. The start of the Tony Awards averaged 7.03 million viewers for CBS, beating the 5.05 million viewers for NBC's “Dateline,” while both networks had a 1.0 key demo rating. Repeats of “The Simpsons” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” averaged 1.76 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating for FOX.
9 p.m. – ABC's basketball coverage rose to 14.9 million viewers and a 5.8 rating among adults 18-49, comfortably outdistancing the 6.34 million viewers and 1.0 key demo rating for CBS' Tony Awards. NBC's “A.D. The Bible Continues” averaged 4.02 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating, topping FOX's “Family Guy” repeat (1.73 million and a 0.7 key demo) and a new “Golan the Insatiable” (1.18 million and a 0.4 key demo rating).
10 p.m. – Game 2 coverage leapt to 17.55 million viewers and a 7.0 rating among adults 18-49 for ABC in the 10 p.m. hour. CBS' Tony Awards coverage slipped to 5.685 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating, still doubling up the 2.57 million viewers and 0.4 key demo rating for ABC's “American Odyssey.”
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change, particularly in the case of live events.