NBA Western Conference Finals are a huge ratings hit, Game 7 sets record

With the NBA now transitioning to the Finals, let’s take a quick look at how the Western Conference Finals on TNT did. With the series going to the limit of seven games, TNT saw some big ratings. To say it scored for the network would be a huge understatement. Let’s take a look at how Game 7 did and then the rest of the series.

Turner Sports and Nielsen state that Monday night’s Game 7 telecast of Oklahoma State at Golden State registered an 11.2 overnight rating which becomes cable tTV’s highest-rated NBA game of all-time. The peak rating was 13.8 in the final quarter-hour betwen 11:15-11:30 p.m. ET. And Game 7 was the highest-rated sporting event of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

The overnight rating Stanley Cup Final on NBC was miniscule by comparison:

Source: An early look at the overnights shows OKC-Golden State Game 7 at around an 11.2 and San Jose-Pitt Game 1 at around a 2.8.

— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) May 31, 2016

Overall, TNT averaged a 7.4 rating for the Western Conference Finals, up 47% from 2014 which is the last time the network aired them.

Game 6 on Saturday gave TNT a 6.2 final rating and 10.8 million viewers. The viewership gave the network its highest-rated Conference Final Game 6 in its history.

One interesting note is that fans stayed with TNT to watch the postgame Inside the NBA program. During the Western Conference Finals, it beat late night programs on both broadcast and cable TV. Saturday’s overnight rating scored a 4.1 and Monday’s edition which was the season finale averaged a 4.8.

Locally, Game 7 in San Francisco-Oakland averaged a huge 30.9 rating. Oklahoma City registered a 30.0, Cleveland averaged a 20.7, Sacramento scored a 19.2 and Tulsa received a 15.5.

For TNT’s entire playoff run, the network averaged a 3.6 rating which is up 10% compared to the 2015 NBA Playoffs.