Very rarely can a sporting event see a 38% increase in ratings and a 45% increase in viewership and it be considered a disappointment.
Lakers/Celtics Game 1 averaged an 8.7 rating with 13.4 million viewers on Thursday night, up significantly from last year, and the second-highest rated Game 1 in the past six years. Game 1 is the 11th most watched NBA game ever on ABC.
Considering the high expectations for this series, the rating is disappointing. Game 1 drew the lowest rating for an NBA Finals game involving the Los Angeles Lakers since at least 1987, and the 8.7 rating is down 11% from the 9.8 for Lakers/Pistons Game 1 four years ago. And in an admittedly unfair comparison, Game 1 of the 1987 NBA Finals between the Lakers and Celtics drew a 13.8/23 on CBS.
While the rating is well below expectations, Game 1 did not do poorly. The game drew a higher rating and had more viewers than the final round of The Masters in April, and had more viewers than Games 5 and 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals combined.
And ABC can take solace in the fact that this is Game 1, which is typically the lowest rated game of the NBA Finals. Assuming this series goes at least six games, ABC is almost guaranteed a final average in the low-to-mid 9.0 range, with the possibility of an even higher average if those games are close and well played. And if this series goes seven, there is still a good possibility for a double-digit average.
Another reason to take solace: the numbers for this year’s Game 1 are not that far below the numbers in 2004. Game 1 was down 11% in ratings, 14% in total viewers and 7% in households compared to 2004, numbers that are not insurmountable to overcome — or at the very least narrow — as the series progresses.
One thing is for sure, however. This will not be the highest rated series since Michael Jordan retired.
