Nobody anticipated good ratings for a fanless, football season NBA Finals, but this year’s series is thus far underperforming the lowest expectations.
Sunday’s Lakers-Heat NBA Finals Game 3 averaged a 3.1 rating and 5.94 million viewers, marking the lowest rated and least-watched NBA Finals game on record. The previous low was set two nights earlier by Game 2, which averaged a 3.6 and 6.61 million. The low before that was set by last Wednesday’s Game 1, which as previously reported drew a 4.1 and 7.41 million.
Prior to this year, the record-lows were a 5.2 and 8.06 million for Nets-Spurs Game 2 in 2003. [Related: NBA Finals ratings history]
Miami’s Game 3 win marked the first NBA Finals game to ever air on an NFL Sunday. It was dominated by NBC’s Sunday Night Football (Eagles-49ers), which won the head-to-head by 171% in ratings (8.4 to 3.1) and 180% in viewership (15.08 to 5.94M). In the key young adult demographics, SNF won by 105% in adults 18-49 (4.5 to 2.2) and a comparably modest 65% in adults 18-34 (3.4 to 2.0).
By comparison, the last World Series game to air on an NFL Sunday — last year’s Astros-Nationals Game 5 — was beaten by slimmer margins in ratings (10.4 to 6.5, -60%) and viewership (18.32 to 11.39M, -61%), and larger margins in 18-49 (5.7 to 2.7, -111%) and 18-34 (4.0 to 2.0, -100%).
While the football competition clearly played a role in Sunday’s numbers, the first two games make clear that ratings would have been in record-low territory regardless.
Game 3 declined 60% in ratings and 56% in viewership from last year (Raptors-Warriors: 7.8, 13.35M) and 70% and 67% respectively from 2018 (Warriors-Cavaliers: 10.4, 17.85M). Game 2 fell 55% in ratings and 52% in viewership from last year (8.0, 13.89M) and 65% and 64% respectively from 2018 (10.3, 18.47M).
Game 2 averaged a 2.4 rating in adults 18-49 (-50%) and Game 3 a 2.2 (-53%). Both games averaged a 2.0 in adults 18-34 (-51% and -47% respectively).
Across the three NBA Finals games thus far, six Stanley Cup Final games, four rounds of golf’s U.S. Open, horse racing’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness and motorsports’ Indy 500 — each of which was postponed from May and June to August, September and October — all have declined double-digits, and ten of the 16 total telecasts have sunk by at least 50 percent.
In a bleak year for televised sports, the three record-low NBA Finals games rank among the five most-watched non-NFL live sporting events since the wave of cancellations and postponements in March. Ranked by viewership, the Kentucky Derby holds the top spot (4.8, 9.26M), followed by Game 1, Game 2, NASCAR’s return at Darlington in May (3.7, 6.32M) and Game 3. No non-NFL sportscast has cracked a 5.0 rating in the ten months since the College Football National Championship in January.
Local ratings will be added when available.
Lowest NBA Finals ratings, viewership
| Lowest rated | Least-watched | ||||||
| # | Year | Game | Rtg | # | Year | Game | Vwrs |
| 1 | 2020 | LAL-MIA Game 3 | 3.1 | 1 | 2020 | LAL-MIA Game 3 | 5.94M |
| 2 | 2020 | MIA-LAL Game 2 | 3.6 | 2 | 2020 | MIA-LAL Game 2 | 6.61M |
| 3 | 2020 | MIA-LAL Game 1 | 4.1 | 3 | 2020 | MIA-LAL Game 1 | 7.41M |
| 4 | 2003 | NJ-SA Game 2 | 5.2 | 4 | 2003 | NJ-SA Game 2 | 8.06M |
| 5 | 2007 | CLE-SA Game 2 | 5.6 | 5 | 2007 | CLE-SA Game 2 | 8.55M |
| 6 | 2003 | SA-NJ Game 5 | 6.2 | 6 | 2007 | CLE-SA Game 1 | 9.21M |
| 7 | 2007 | CLE-SA Game 1 | 6.3 | 7 | 2003 | SA-NJ Game 5 | 9.31M |
| 8 | 2007 | SA-CLE Game 3 | 6.4 | 8 | 2007 | SA-CLE Game 3 | 9.49M |
| 2003 | NJ-SA Game 1 | 6.4 | 9 | 2003 | NJ-SA Game 1 | 9.60M | |
| 10 | 2007 | SA-CLE Game 4 | 6.5 | 10 | 2003 | SA-NJ Game 4 | 9.66M |
