With Zaza Pachulia ending the series just three quarters into Game 1, the Western Conference Finals was not nearly as strong a draw as it could have been.
The four-game Warriors-Spurs NBA West Finals averaged a 3.9 rating and 6.5 million viewers across ESPN and ABC, down 34% in ratings and viewership from last year’s seven-game Warriors-Thunder series on TNT (5.9, 9.9M) and down 17% and 12% respectively from the five-game Warriors-Rockets matchup on ESPN in 2015 (4.7, 7.4M).
The Warriors’ sweep, which looked to be competitive until Pachulia ended Kawhi Leonard‘s season in Game 1, was the lowest rated and least-watched West Finals since Spurs-Grizzlies in 2013 (3.1, 4.9M). Outside of 2013, it was the lowest rated WCF since Spurs-Jazz in 2007 and the least-watched since Lakers-Spurs in 2008.
For ESPN, the series still marked an increase over last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, which featured a Canadian team. Ratings increased 11% (from 3.5) and viewership 16% (from 5.6M) over the six-game Cavaliers-Raptors series.
ESPN/ABC enters the NBA Finals averaging 4.4 million viewers for playoff coverage, up 5% from last year (4.2M). Including streaming, it has averaged 4.5 million — also up 5% (from 4.3M).
(Series avg. from ESPN)
