Atlanta ranked No. 9 among the nation’s 56 major television markets in the Nielsen ratings for the first three games of the NBA finals.
The Miami-Oklahoma City series has averaged a 13.6 rating here, meaning 13.6 percent of metro Atlanta’s TV households -- about 312,000 households -- have tuned in to the ABC telecasts on average.
The NBA finals are traditionally a strong draw on Atlanta television, even though the hometown Hawks have not played for a title since moving here in 1968.
Of the eight markets that have posted higher ratings than Atlanta for the Heat-Thunder series so far, four are in the territories of the participating teams: Oklahoma City (43.5 rating), Miami-Fort Lauderdale (30.2), Tulsa (26.6) and West Palm Beach (18.1).
The only other markets topping Atlanta in the ratings are Cleveland (17.8), Memphis (15.6), New Orleans (14.0) and San Antonio (14.0).
Sunday night’s Game 3 of the Heat-Thunder series posted a 13.1 rating in Atlanta despite competition from the U.S. Open golf tournament.
NBC’s 6 1/2-hour telecast of the final round of the Open drew a 6.0 rating in Atlanta, including 7.1 for the 2 ½ prime-time hours that overlapped with the NBA game and 7.6 for the finish.
The NBA rating jumped to 18.9 in Atlanta for the conclusion of the Heat victory as many golf viewers switched to the waning minutes of the basketball game after Webb Simpson won the Open at San Francisco's Olympic Club at about 10:30 p.m. EDT.
Sunday afternoon’s Braves-Orioles game posted a 3.7 rating in Atlanta on Fox Sports South.
WATCHING THE FINALS
Among the nation’s 56 largest TV markets, these 10 have posted the highest Nielsen ratings through the first three games of the NBA finals:
Market // Rating
Oklahoma City 43.5
Miami-Fort Lauderdale 30.2
Tulsa 26.6
West Palm Beach 18.1
Cleveland 17.8
Memphis 15.6
New Orleans 14.0
San Antonio 14.0
Atlanta 13.6
Chicago 13.5
Note: The rating is the percentage of the market's TV households tuned in on average.
Source: ABC/ESPN
