Despite a competitive series that has the Toronto Raptors poised to complete the upset against the Golden State Warriors tonight, through three games the NBA Finals have had some of the lowest ratings in this popular NBA area dating back to 2007. According to Sports Media Watch, ABC’s ratings for the series are down between 25% and 27% from last year’s series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors.
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Of the 176 NBA Finals games dating back to 1988, Game 3 was just the 20th to earn less than an 8.0 rating. Of those, it was only the sixth that did not involve the San Antonio Spurs. It should be noted that sub-8.0 ratings are not uncommon for championship-level sporting events; 13 World Series games have failed to crack that mark just since 2012.
This year’s NBA Finals is the first to feature the Raptors, whose Canadian fanbase is not measured by Nielsen. In Canada, Game 3 had 3.8 million viewers across SportsNet and City TV, a figure that does not include viewership on RDS or CTV2. If one were to include the Canadian audience, Game 2 would combine for approximately 16.9 million viewers — down from the past two years, but ahead of the U.S.-only audience in 2016 and 2002-14.
In the U.S., Game 3 had a 4.6 rating in adults 18-49 — down 28% from last year (6.4) and down 36% from 2017 (7.2). The 4.6 is the lowest for any finals game in the demo since Game 4 in 2007 (4.0). It drew a 3.8 in adults 18-34, down 32% from last year (5.6) and down 43% from 2017 (6.7). As in 18-49, ratings in 18-34 were the lowest for any finals game since 2007.
Ratings also declined in adults 25-54 (5.2, -26%).
While Raptors-Warriors has been much more competitive than the previous Warriors-Cavaliers matchups, the series has yet to build any momentum. Game 3 hit series-lows in ratings, viewership, adults 18-34 and adults 18-49.
The fact that the series features a Canadian team cannot be overestimated, as Toronto is the only NBA market outside of the US. But something that should also be considered is that LeBron James is not in the finals for the first time in eight years, and as the biggest star in the NBA since Jordan, his absence is being felt big by the TV networks, as his fans from Orlando all the way to Walla Walla, Washington are more interested in impending free agency than the series at hand.
We’ll be updating this story here at the TV, Internet, and Phone Blog if anything develops.
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