Ratings: NBA Finals Game 5 Edges Out Last Year’s Series Clincher

ABC crushed its competition on Sunday night, as the Golden State Warriors took a 3-2 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Game 5 was such a hit that it even slightly topped last year’s corresponding matchup, which clinched the NBA Championship for the San Antonio Spurs. That said, due to the nature of live sports, fast national numbers for ABC are approximate.

ABC was first in ratings with a 5.4 rating/18 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 14.9 million, according to preliminary numbers. At 7 p.m., “Jimmy Kimmel Game Night” earned a 2.7/11 — up 29 percent from last year — and 8.4 million viewers. At 7:30, “NBA Countdown” rose 36 percent to a 3.4/13 and had 9.9 million viewers. Game 5 itself scored a 6.2/20 and 16.9 million viewers.

Also Read: LeBron James' Penis Makes Debut During NBA Finals (Video)

NBC and Fox tied for second in ratings, both with a 0.7/2. NBC was third in total viewers with 3.7 million viewers; Fox was fourth 1.6 million viewers.

For NBC, “Dateline” at 7 got a 0.8/3 and 4.1 million viewers. At 8, special “My Kid Would Never Do That” had a 0.9/3 and 4.4 million viewers. “A.D. The Bible Continues” at 9 received a 0.7/2 and 4 million viewers. “American Odyssey” at 10 posted a 0.5/1 and 2.4 million viewers.

For Fox, following reruns, “Golan the Insatiable” at 9:30 had a 0.6/2 and 1.4 million viewers.

Also Read: How Judd Apatow's 'Trainwreck' Is Leveraging LeBron James' Cameo During NBA Finals

CBS and Univision tied for fourth in ratings, both with a 0.5/2. CBS was second in total viewers with 4.8 million; Univision was fifth with 1.3 million.

For CBS, “60 Minutes” at 7 got a 0.8/3 and 7.5 million viewers. Repeats followed.

Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.3/1 and in viewers with 868,000