Golden State lifted NBA playoff ratings Thursday night, but the Warriors’ drawing power is not quite what it has been the last two years.
Thursday’s Warriors-Spurs NBA Playoffs Game 3 delivered a 2.4 rating and 3.8 million viewers on TNT, up 9% in ratings and 10% in viewership from last year (Spurs-Grizzlies: 2.2, 3.5M) but down 17% in both measures from 2016 (Warriors-Rockets: 2.9, 4.6M).
Compared to Game 3 of Golden State’s first round series against Portland last season, ratings fell 8% (from 2.6) and viewership 13% (from 4.4M). That game aired on a Saturday night.
All three Warriors-Spurs games have increased over the comparable windows last season, which did not feature Golden State. Having said that, all three games have earned a lower rating and fewer viewers than the Warriors’ corresponding first round games last season and in 2016.
Earlier in the night, Sixers-Heat had a 2.0 and 3.2 million, down 9% in ratings and 12% in viewership from last year (Cavs-Pacers: 2.2, 3.6M) but up 18% and 25% respectively from 2016 (Thunder-Mavs: 1.7, 2.5M).
In other action, NBA TV chipped in a 0.19 and 320,000 (+28%) for Blazers-Pelicans.
Warriors-Spurs pulled a 1.5 rating in adults 18-49, ranking just fourth for the night on television behind “The Big Bang Theory” (2.4) and “Young Sheldon” (1.9) on CBS and “Grey’s Anatomy” (1.7) on ABC. It topped the charts in adults 18-34, its 1.4 in the demo coming in ahead of “Big Bang” (1.2).
[Thu. numbers from Nielsen via Programming Insider 4.20]
