The NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals continues to lag behind previous years.
Game 2 of the Raptors/Cavaliers NBA East finals earned a 3.5 final rating and 5.5 million viewers on ESPN Thursday night, down 20% in ratings and viewership from Rockets/Warriors last year (4.4, 6.9M) and down 29% and 27%, respectively, from Heat/Pacers in 2014 (4.9, 7.5M).
Compared to Game 2 of last year’s Cavaliers/Hawks ECF on TNT, which aired on a low-rated Friday night, ratings dropped a tick from 3.6 and viewership fell 8% from 5.9 million.
The Cavaliers’ blowout win ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals in nine years — since Cavaliers/Pistons on TNT in 2007 (2.9, 4.3M). Regardless of conference, it earned the lowest Game 2 numbers since Grizzlies/Spurs on ESPN in 2013 (3.1, 4.6M).
Raptors/Cavaliers is the first NBA conference final to ever feature a team from Canada, which does not count toward U.S. television ratings. Combined with the Raptors’ low-profile and the lopsided nature of the games, the series has not exactly been a recipe for success — even with the presence of LeBron James.
For the third straight night, the NBA was not television’s top draw among adults 18-49. Game 2 scored a 2.2 rating in the demo, ranking second behind ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy (2.3).
(Thu. numbers via Programming Insider)
