One of the biggest upsets in recent NBA history delivered strong numbers for ESPN.
Tuesday’s Nuggets-Clippers second round NBA playoff Game 7 averaged 5.23 million viewers on ESPN, marking the largest audience of the playoffs on cable and the second-largest across all networks. ABC averaged 5.43 million for Rockets-Lakers Game 2 over Labor Day weekend.
Denver’s upset win delivered cable’s third-largest live sports audience since the NFL Draft in April, behind only the previous night’s NFL doubleheader on ESPN (Steelers-Giants: 10.76M; Titans-Broncos: 7.70M). Outside of the NFL, it was the most-watched live sporting event on cable since the NBA All-Star Game in February (7.23M).
Game 7 trailed only last year’s Warriors-Rockets Game 6 (7.33M) as ESPN’s most-watched early round playoff game in the past four years. Keep in mind ESPN had not aired a second round Game 7 since 2004.
Like Friday’s Celtics-Raptors Game 7 (4.69M), Tuesday’s game attracted fewer viewers than one might expect in an ordinary year. Last year’s second round Game 7s — Blazers-Nuggets on ABC and Sixers-Raptors on TNT — averaged 6.34 and 6.94 million viewers respectively on a traditional Sunday in May.
Earlier Tuesday, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals (Heat-Celtics) averaged 4.01 million, marking the least-watched conference final game since 2007 (Jazz-Spurs Game 5: 3.97M). The 6:30 PM ET start time — the earliest for any weekday conference final game in recent memory — provides an obvious caveat.
Viewership fell 27% from Game 1 of last year’s East Finals on TNT, which began two hours later (Raptors-Bucks: 5.49M), and 44% from Game 1 in 2018 — a Sunday afternoon game on broadcast television (Cavaliers-Celtics: 7.22M).
Prior to this year, it was rare for a weekday playoff game to begin prior to 7 PM ET. Heat-Celtics ranks as the most-watched game in that early evening window in at least a decade.
As one would expect, the NBA delivered the day’s two highest rated programs in adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.
Going back to the weekend, ESPN averaged a 1.9 rating and 3.72 million viewers for Rockets-Lakers Game 5 on Saturday night and a mere 0.8 and 1.30 million for Clippers-Nuggets Game 6 on Sunday afternoon. The latter ranks as the least-watched second round playoff game in at least a decade, with the caveat that it aired opposite NFL games.
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 9.16]
