Hampered by an all-time blowout and the NFL Draft, the NBA Playoffs had yet more declines Thursday.
Game 6 of the Clippers/Spurs NBA playoff series drew 3.9 million viewers on TNT Thursday night, down 14% from Clippers/Warriors last year (4.5M) and down 11% from Nuggets/Warriors in 2013 (4.4M). Neither of those games faced NFL Draft competition.
Five of the six Clippers/Spurs games have had year-over-year declines in viewership, the lone exception being last Sunday’s Game 4 on ABC (+1%).
Considering the mitigating circumstances, the game held up about as well as possible. Not only did it face the NFL Draft, it also had a very poor lead-in from Bulls/Bucks.
The Bulls’ 54-point Game 6 win drew just 1.7 million viewers, down 55% from Thunder/Grizzlies last year (3.8M), down 58% from Nets/Bulls in 2013 (4.1M), and the least-watched primetime playoff game in at least six years (excludes NBA TV and ESPN2).
Through Thursday, 32 of the 39 NBA playoff games have had declines in viewership compared to last year — and 26 of those have declined by double-digits. Compared to 2013, 20 of the 39 games have declined.
(Thu. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily)
