After showing some signs of momentum, the NBA Playoffs fell back into its downward trend Wednesday.
Game 5 of the Grizzlies/Warriors NBA playoff series drew 4.7 million viewers on TNT Wednesday night, down 6% from Blazers/Spurs last year (5.0M) and down 10% from Grizzlies/Thunder in 2013 (5.3M).
Of the 61 NBA playoff telecasts through Wednesday, the Warriors’ win was the 46th to have a decline in viewership from last year and the 37th to have a decline from 2013. Excluding the Cavaliers’ nine games, 45 of the 52 playoff games have declined from last year, and 32 have declined from 2013.
Earlier in the night, Wizards/Hawks Game 5 drew 3.8 million viewers — down 21% from Nets/Heat last year (4.9M) and down 30% from Bulls/Heat in 2013 (5.5M).
The Hawks’ buzzer-beating win was easily the most-watched game of the little-watched series. The previous high was 3.1 million for Game 4. All five games of Wizards/Hawks have had at least a 20% decline in viewership.
(Wed. numbers via TV By the Numbers)
