The 2007 NBA Finals featured the San Antonio Spurs dispatching the Cleveland Cavaliers in a gruesome sweep. With a series that featured very few entertaining moments and two small-markets, the television ratings suffered.
The four-game series averaged a 6.2 rating on ABC, down 27% from last year and lower than the previous record low of 6.5, set by the Spurs’ six-game victory over the New Jersey Nets in 2003. Game 4 drew a 6.5 rating, the highest of the series.
To put these numbers in perspective, no game of this series drew a rating close to the numbers put up last year; the 2006 NBA Finals between Dallas and Miami drew an 8.5 average rating. The highest rated game from this year’s series (6.5) drew a lower rating than every game of the 2005 NBA Finals between the Spurs and Detroit Pistons.
ABC failed to win the night in prime-time during each game of the four game series. Games were routinely beaten by entertainment fare on other networks, including reality shows and re-runs. And while both the World Series and NCAA Tournament have both lost to entertainment programming head-to-head in recent years, both of those events take place during the television season — as opposed to the NBA Finals, which air during the summer, when there is much weaker competition on the airwaves.
ABC has now aired the two lowest-rated NBA Finals in history, and four of the seven lowest rated NBA Finals. The San Antonio Spurs have participated in three of the six lowest rated NBA Finals.
The fourteen lowest-rated games involve the San Antonio Spurs.
- 5.2: New Jersey at San Antonio, 2003 Game 2
- 5.6: Cleveland at San Antonio, 2007 Game 2
- 6.2: San Antonio at New Jersey, 2003 Game 5
- 6.3: Cleveland at San Antonio, 2007 Game 1
- 6.4: New Jersey at San Antonio, 2003 Game 1
- 6.4: San Antonio at Cleveland, 2007 Game 3
- 6.5: San Antonio at Cleveland, 2007 Game 4
- 6.6: San Antonio at New Jersey, 2003 Game 4
- 6.9: Detroit at San Antonio, 2005 Game 2
- 7.0: San Antonio at New Jersey, 2003 Game 3
- 7.2: Three tied
- Detroit at San Antonio, 2005 Game 1
- San Antonio at Detroit, 2005 Game 3
- San Antonio at Detroit, 2005 Game 4
- 7.5: New Jersey at San Antonio, 2003 Game 6
- 7.8: Two tied
- Houston at New York, 1994 Game 5
- Miami at Dallas, 2006 Game 1
- 8.0: Two tied
- Miami at Dallas, 2006 Game 2
- Dallas at Miami, 2006 Game 4
- 8.4: San Antonio at Detroit, 2005 Game 5
Each of the four San Antonio Spurs championships are in the top ten lowest rated series, including the two lowest rated series; four out of five NBA Finals aired on ABC are in the top ten lowest rated series.
- 6.2: San Antonio 4, Cleveland 0 (2007, ABC)
- 6.5: San Antonio 4, New Jersey 2 (2003, ABC)
- 6.7: Boston 4, Houston 2 (1981, CBS)
- 7.2: Seattle 4, Washington 1 (1979, CBS)
- 8.0: L.A. Lakers 4, Philadelphia 2 (1980, CBS)
- 8.2: San Antonio 4, Detroit 3 (2005, ABC)
- 8.5: Miami 4, Dallas 2 (2006, ABC)
- 9.9: Washington 4, Seattle 3 (1978, CBS)
- 10.2: L.A. Lakers 4, New Jersey 0 (2002, NBC)
- 11.3: San Antonio 4, New York 1 (1999, NBC)
