Basketball Captures Ratings Victories

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/05/2002 at 11:22 AM EDT

Reruns in and ratings out, at least for regular shows -- but thanks to the NBA playoffs, NBC took an overpowering win in the week ending June 2, according to Nielsen Media Research. Sunday's primetime Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings was far and away the week's most-watched program, with 23.8 million viewers, as well as tops in the 18-49 demo. Some 46 million viewers caught at least part of the telecast, which was the highest-rated NBA game in two years. Actually, NBC was overall champ in total viewers, averaging 10.9 million for the week, compared to the audiences for CBS (9 million), ABC (6.2 million) and Fox (5.1 million). Wednesday's broadcast of the Miss Universe Pageant on CBS gathered some 11.3 million viewers, outdrawing that night's NBA playoff game, between the Boston Celtics and New Jersey Nets. The Top 10 shows for the week of May 27 to June 2 are as follows:

1. "NBA Playoffs - Sunday: L.A. Lakers at Sacramento," NBC, 15.2 million homes
2. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 12.2 million homes
3. "NBA Playoffs - Friday, Game 2: L.A. Lakers at Sacramento," NBC, 11.7 million homes
4. "NBA Playoffs - Tuesday: L.A. Lakers at Sacramento," NBC, 10.4 million homes
5. "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 10 million homes
6. "Becker," CBS, 8.8 million homes
7. "51st Annual Miss Universe Pageant," CBS, 8.5 million homes
8. "60 Minutes," CBS, 8.4 million homes
9. "Primetime Thursday," ABC, 8.2 million homes
10. "Friends," NBC, 8.1 million homes