Saturday, April 21st is the first day of the NBA Playoffs. That afternoon, ABC will air Game 1 of a First Round series at 3:00 PM. 2007 will mark the third straight year ABC has aired the first game of the playoffs on a Saturday afternoon in that timeslot, and the previous two games (76ers/Pistons in 2005 and Wizards/Cavaliers in 2006) drew a 2.1 and 2.4 rating, respectively.
Bad, yes. But without any other sports on network television to compare the numbers to, not a true embarrassment. In previous years, the only counterprogramming in that timeslot was the NFL Draft on ESPN. And while the NFL Draft did outdraw the NBA Playoffs in both 2005 and 2006, the fact is that losing to the NFL — even the NFL Draft — isn’t necessarily cause for alarm.
2007 will be far different. This year will pose a serious challenge to the NBA and ABC: FOX is airing Yankees/Red Sox at 3:30 PM.
Imagine the humiliation in the NBA league offices if an early season Yankees/Red Sox game outdrew the first game of the NBA Playoffs. An unending list of columnists would use the occasion as a reason to celebrate — or at least talk about how far the league has fallen. And considering that FOX Saturday baseball games drew generally anywhere from a 2.0 to a 3.0 rating last year, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that Yankees/Red Sox in a good timeslot should get one of the highest ratings (likely 2.7 or higher) of the season.
There really is no way for the NBA to avoid this embarrassment; if LeBron James’ first playoff game (in which he scored a triple-double) could only draw a 2.4 rating in that timeslot, then no game can pull in a decent audience. The best solution is to move the game to primetime on ABC, or simply schedule a Sunday afternoon doubleheader. For the ratings-challenged NBA, it’s better to avoid the fight than to get humiliated.
