In what has been a down year for the NBA, the league’s Saturday Primetime series has been an exception.
Warriors-Thunder scored a 1.7 rating and 2.70 million viewers on the season finale of ABC’s NBA Saturday Primetime last weekend. There was no comparable game last year, as the NCAA Tournament had already begun.
Compared to last year’s NBA Saturday Primetime finale — Thunder-Rockets on the final weekend of the regular season — ratings were flat and viewership increased 1% from 2.67 million.
Golden State’s blowout win tied the lowest Saturday Primetime rating of the season, matching Thunder-Rockets in February (1.7). Keep in mind it faced tough competition from the Duke-Florida State ACC Tournament final, which had a 2.5 and 4.06 million.
Despite the soft finish, the eight-game Saturday Primetime schedule averaged 3.41 million viewers — up 1% from last year (3.39M) and up 16% from 2017 (2.95M). Seven of the eight games featured Golden State or the Lakers, the league’s two biggest draws.
Shifting to Selection Sunday, ABC earned a 1.3 and 1.95 million for Sixers-Bucks and ESPN a 0.9 and 1.32 million for Timberwolves-Rockets. Compared to last year’s Selection Sunday games, Sixers-Bucks declined 13% in ratings and 12% in viewership (from Warriors-T’Wolves: 1.5, 2.22M) and T’Wolves-Rockets declined 36% and 41% respectively (from Cavaliers-Lakers: 1.4, 2.22M).
On Monday, ESPN drew a 1.1 and 1.75 million for Warriors-Spurs — up 10% in ratings and 14% in viewership from last year (Bucks-Cavaliers: 1.0, 1.54M), but down 31% in both measures from 2017 (Warriors-Thunder: 1.6, 2.55M). Compared to the same Warriors-Spurs matchup in a later window last year, ratings fell a tick (from 1.1) and viewership 6% (from 1.86M).
The Pacers-Blazers nightcap had a 0.8 (-33%) and 1.16 million (-38%).
[Numbers from ESPN, Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 3.19, Programming Insider 3.19]
