The Raptors’ return to the Eastern Conference Finals got off to a slightly better start than their previous appearance.
Wednesday’s Raptors-Bucks NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 earned 5.49 million viewers on TNT, down 24% from Cavaliers-Celtics on ABC last year, which aired on a Sunday afternoon (7.22M), and down 15% from Cavaliers-Celtics on TNT in 2017 (6.45M). Ratings were not immediately available.
Compared to last year’s conference final opener on TNT, Warriors-Rockets, viewership fell 38% from 8.90 million.
Versus the previous conference final to involve Toronto — which does not count toward U.S. television ratings — viewership increased 2% from 5.41 million for Raptors-Cavaliers Game 1 in 2016. Though that game featured LeBron James, it was also a 31-point rout with a 22-point margin at halftime.
The Bucks’ win topped only the 2016 game as the least-watched conference final opener since 2013 (Spurs-Grizzlies: 4.85M) and the least-watched East final opener since 2008 (Pistons-Celtics: 5.43M). It was the least-watched opener on TNT since 2007 (Cavaliers-Pistons: 3.91M).
Game 1 delivered a 17.3 rating in Milwaukee, per Sports Business Daily, the market’s second-highest for a Bucks game on TNT.
In the key young adult demographics, the game had a 2.0 rating in adults 18-49 (-20%), a 1.7 in adults 18-34 and a 2.3 in adults 25-54. It took top honors in all three demos.
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 5.16]
