Game 3 of the NBA finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat went head-to-head with “,” with neither coming out better off.
The NBA game averaged a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49 and just over 4 million total viewers for ABC, that represents a slight dip from Game 2. Jimmy Butler fired the Heat to a much-needed and surprising win, meaning the series will go for at least two more games. Right after that part 1 of the “Black-ish” animated election special retained a 0.8 rating and 2.4 million total viewers.
Meanwhile on NBC, the NFL game between two depleted teams in the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Franciscos 49ers dropped around 19% from the previous “SNF,” scoring a 3.5 rating and 11.7 million pairs of eyeballs. Its “Football Night in America” lead-in delivered a 1.8 and just under 7 million viewers. Both sports games are subject to upward adjustment once more accurate numbers come in, and it’s of course worth mentioning that COVID-19 restrictions and the general decline of PUT levels play a part in the lower numbers.
Looking elsewhere, Fox continued its Animation Domination Sunday lineup with a fresh batch of episodes. “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” tied for first on the night with a 0.5 rating and around 1.4 million viewers each. “Bob’s Burgers” came next with a 0.4 rating and 1.1 million viewers, followed by “Bless the Harts” with a 0.3 and only 930,000 viewers.
The season 2 premiere of “Pandora” could only managed a 0.1 and 372,000 viewers in the 8 p.m. time slot for the CW. That represents fewer than half the viewers who tuned in for the series premiere last year. An episode of “Local” precede that with a 0.1 and 623,000 viewers, while a “Supernatural” replay rounded off the night with a 0.1 and 264,000 viewers.
“60 Minutes,” which was pre-empted by the NFL, averaged around a 0.8 rating and 6 million total viewers across its two hours on CBS.