The Raptors and Bucks attracted the NBA’s smallest conference final TV audience in a dozen years Friday night.
Friday’s Raptors-Bucks NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 2 earned 4.39 million viewers on TNT, down 48% from Cavaliers-Celtics on ESPN last year, which aired on a Tuesday night after the NBA Draft Lottery (8.42M), and down 14% from Cavaliers-Celtics on TNT in 2017, a 44-point Cleveland rout (5.10M). Ratings were not immediately available.
Compared to last year’s conference final Game 2 on TNT, Warriors-Rockets, viewership declined 42% from 7.56 million. Compared to the last conference final to involve Toronto — which does not count toward U.S. television ratings — viewership fell 20% from 5.49 million for Raptors-Cavaliers in 2016. Those two games aired on a Wednesday and Thursday night respectively.
The Bucks’ blowout win ranks as the least-watched NBA conference final game in twelve years, since Jazz-Spurs Game 5 on ESPN in 2007 (3.97M). It also ranks as the least-watched Eastern Conference Final game since Pistons-Cavaliers Game 3 on TNT that same year (4.37M).
Game 2 had just a 1.6 rating in adults 18-49, down 52% from last year (3.3) and down 20% from 2017 (2.0). It also had a 1.3 in adults 18-34, down 57% from last year (3.0) and down 35% from 2017 (2.0). It still topped the night on television in the key young adult demographics.
Sunday’s Game 3 had a 4.5 overnight rating, down 12% from Celtics-Cavaliers on a Saturday night last year (5.1) and down 10% from Celtics-Cavaliers two years ago (5.0). Compared to Rockets-Warriors on TNT last year, overnights fell 22% from a 5.8.
Overnights increased 7% from Cavaliers-Raptors Game 3 in 2016, which aired on a Saturday night (4.2).
Game 3 aired 90 minutes earlier than usual to avoid the series finale of HBO’s excessively-hyped “Game of Thrones.” That telecast had 13.6 million TV viewers in its initial 9 PM ET airing (18.4 million including streaming and encore presentations).
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 5.20; Sports Business Daily 5.20; CNN.com 5.20]
