The interwebs are reporting that last night’s episode of TNA iMPACT! received an average of 1,052,000 viewers for its two hour time slot. This compares unfavorably to last week’s average of 1,338,000 viewers during the two hour time slot.

Last week, an average of 1,338,000 viewers created a final cable rating of 0.96. If the numbers reported above remain the same and the comparable data doesn’t change between both weeks, that means that this week’s episode of iMPACT! scored a 0.75 cable rating. This is a 21.8% drop from last week’s rating.

Update: The week-to-week comparable data changed (likely due to the NBA Finals) and thus this week’s iMPACT! scored a final cable rating of 0.87.

Before anyone writes off the great changes that Eric Bischoff has been making to the show (which really has made it a lot more entertaining to watch), remember that last night saw the first game of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. For comparison’s sake, the NBA Finals game last night scored a 10.1 network rating with a 17 share in the ratings. This means that 10.1% of all televisions in the United States were tuned into the game and that 17% of televisions that were actually in use last night (sometimes not all of the televisions that could be in use are in use) were watching the NBA.

With a similar core demographic between TNA and the NBA, last night’s severe ratings drop might have been expected. Especially considering that iMPACT! is a taped show where results have been available online for weeks.