What a difference a week makes: exactly one week after nearly 30 million viewers tuned into Game 7 of the NBA Finals, fewer than three million watched the NBA Draft.
The 2010 NBA Draft drew a 1.9 U.S. rating and 2.789 million viewers on ESPN Thursday night, up 6% in ratings and viewership from last year (1.8, 2.639 mil), but down 10% and 3%, respectively, from 2008 (2.1, 2.895 mil).
This marks the fifth-highest rating for the NBA Draft since 1999, but the fourth-lowest since ESPN acquired the rights in ’03.
To put the numbers in perspective, ESPN drew a substantially higher 4.6 rating and 7.290 million viewers for first round coverage of the NFL Draft on a Thursday night in April.
(ESPN)
