Ratings Good in L.A. but Down Overall

While the NBA Finals got boffo ratings in Los Angeles--Game 4 got a 34.0 rating with a 54 share here--nationally the Lakers’ four-game sweep of the New Jersey Nets was a bust.

The four games averaged a national rating of 10.2, which is the lowest rating for an NBA Finals since the league went to a live, prime-time format 20 years ago.

The rating in 1981, when CBS tape-delayed the weeknight coverage until 11:30 p.m., was a 6.7. The Boston Celtics beat the Houston Rockets in six games that year.

Since then, the NBA Finals have been televised live and in prime time.

This year’s 10.2--with a 19 share--is down 17% from the first four games of last year’s five-game series with Philadelphia, which averaged a 12.3/23. The five-game average last year was a 12.1/22.

The four games averaged a 31.8/51 in Los Angeles, which is slightly lower than the 33.2/54 for last year’s Finals against Philadelphia but higher than the 31.2/50 for the six-game series against Indiana two years ago.