RATINGS RAT RACE: NBA Finals Game 3 Down, ‘The Voice’ Hits All-Time Low, ‘America’s Got Talent’ Steady
Between basketball and the reality shows there was a lot of competition on TV on Tuesday — literally and figuratively. With 11.95 million watching, the San Antonio Spurs thrashed the Miami Heat 113-77 last night in Game 3 of the NBA Finals with the third-largest margin of victory in Finals history. But ABC still took a tumble: Tuesday’s 9-11:45 PM ET game posted a 10.0 overnight rating, down from the 10.4 result of last year’s Game 3, when the Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on June 17. Meanwhile, the live one-hour semifinal results show of NBC’s The Voice (2.7/9) also wobbled last night, falling 13% from its June 4 episode to hit an all-time low for the show excluding recaps.
Last night’s Heat-Spurs game hit a 37.5 local market rating in San Antonio, marking the best local rating of the 2013 NBA Finals so far; the game drew a 28.4 in the Miami market. The series is averaging a 10.3 overnight rating so far, down from the 11.3 last year’s series had at this point. In primetime fast nationals, the NBA Finals Game 3 (4.9/14) was down 14% from last year’s Game 3 between the Heat and Thunder. Typical of live events, expect adjustments in the final numbers later today. The Spurs lead the series 2-1, with the next game Thursday.
Before the game, ABC aired Jimmy Kimmel Live Game Night (2.4/8) and NBA Countdown (2.3/7). In fast nationals, the former was up 26% against the comparable night last year while the latter was down 12%. In overnight ratings, though, Countdown was up 46% from the comparable night during last year’s Finals with a 3.8 vs. 2012’s 2.6. ABC won the night in adults 18-49, with NBC tops in viewers.
Going head-to-head with the Spurs-Heat matchup, the second week of Season 8 of America’s Got Talent (3.0/8) rose from its lead-in and saw singing, dancing, opera and an onstage marriage proposal. With a total viewing audience of 11.5 million, AGT dipped a slight 3% in adults 18-49 from its all-time low premiere last week.
Meanwhile, It was Vegas callback week on So You Think You Can Dance (1.6/5) as the competition ramped up and dancers were cut. The show slipped 6% from its June 4 airing. Except for Brooklyn D.A. (0.6/2), it was all encores on CBS last night. The third episode of the six-part docu-series was down 14% from last week.
On The Voice, it was down to the final five contestants, who all sang together on Poison’s power ballad “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”. But in the end only the Swon Bros, Danielle Bradbery and Michelle Chamuel were left heading toward next week’s finale.
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