Lakers Give NBC an Assist

Rights to NBA basketball shift to ABC next season, but NBC is going out with a bang, scoring its highest basketball rating in four years--since Michael Jordan’s last trip to the NBA Finals--with the Lakers’ overtime victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, based on viewing estimates issued Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.

Not only did NBC benefit from Sunday’s nail-biting finish, but the Lakers’ victory bodes well for the NBA Finals, putting a franchise from the U.S.’ second-biggest city back in the championship series. The Los Angeles TV market is more than four times the size of Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, the 19th-largest media market.

Because Game 7 ran until past 10 p.m. in the Eastern time zone, the Lakers doubtless contributed to poor ratings for this year’s Tony Awards, which slipped 11% from last year’s Nielsen level. ABC generated so-so tune-in for its “reality miniseries,” “The Hamptons,” while Fox also garnered modest ratings with the premiere of “Looking for Love: Bachelorettes in Alaska.” Both performed best among younger women.

Among cable fare, TLC scored a coup with strong Memorial Day numbers for its breakthrough hit “Trading Spaces,” while HBO’s “Six Feet Under” closed its season on a solid note with 5.5 million viewers, although viewing dropped by a third for the debut of the pay channel’s new drama “The Wire.”

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National Nielsen Viewership

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