Back in its normal time of year, and featuring a marquee matchup of Stephen Curry’s Warriors against the storied Celtics, the NBA Finals got off to a less-than-impressive start.
Thursday’s Celtics-Warriors NBA Finals Game 1 averaged a 6.4 rating and 11.90 million viewers across ABC (6.1, 11.4M) and ESPN2 (0.31, 501K), topping only the past two years as the lowest for the series opener since 2007 (Cavaliers-Spurs: 6.3, 9.21M). There had been some dispute Friday as to whether the 11.4 million viewership figure for ABC was preliminary or final, but that was resolved Monday when ESPN/ABC announced the 11.9 million figure. 1
The Celtics’ comeback win, which peaked with 12.96 million viewers, declined 19% in ratings and 11% in viewership from Warriors-Raptors Game 1 in 2019, the previous Finals to take place June (7.9, 13.38M). It ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched Finals game involving Curry (29 telecasts), falling below Game 4 of the 2019 series (7.6, 12.79M).
Ratings and viewership still easily surpassed the previous two Finals, both of which aired months out of season. Compared to Bucks-Suns in July last year, Game 1 increased 42% in ratings (from 4.5) and 37% in viewership. Compared to two years ago — Heat-Lakers in a fanless bubble on the final day of September — ratings jumped 56% (from 4.1) and viewership as much as 57% (from 7.58M*). (* Asterisk indicates figure is subject to revision due to Nielsen undercount of out-of-home viewing).
Since the NBA returned from hiatus nearly two years ago, Game 1 would rank second among all games behind last year’s clinching Suns-Bucks Game 6 (6.6, 12.52M*).
If a marked improvement over the past two years, Thursday’s Game 1 ratings would have to be considered a disappointment. Prior to 2019, 29-straight Finals games averaged at least a 9.0 rating and 56-straight averaged at least 14 million viewers. A Finals rating in the 6.0 range was the domain of the mid-2000s Spurs, whose annual defensive slogs plumbed the ratings depths. Far better numbers could have been expected for a series pitting the league’s biggest draw against its most storied franchise, both hailing from top-ten media markets.
Then again, as strong as the NBA’s numbers have been at times this postseason, there were signs in recent weeks that the league’s momentum has slowed. Even last Sunday’s Celtics-Heat Game 7 was an underwhelming draw by historical standards, its mere 4.6 rating easily the lowest for a conference final Game 7 in the past 25 years. Out-of-home viewing made the audience figure look more respectable — nearly ten million — but even that was the smallest audience for a conference final Game 7 since 2005.
It is still far too early to pronounce this year’s Finals a ratings dud. A long series can overcome a slow start; Raptors-Warriors three years ago opened at 13.38 million for Game 1 and finished at an average of 15.5 million due to a strong performance for Games 5 and 6. A Game 5, 6 and certainly 7 could render Thursday’s Game 1 underperformance a distant memory.
If below expectations, Game 1 still averaged a 3.6 rating in adults 18-49, a 2.9 in 18-34 and a 4.0 in 25-54, television’s highest numbers in those demographics since the Kansas-Duke NCAA men’s basketball title game on Turner in April (4.7, 3.5 and 6.0).
Game 1 also outdrew the opener of last year’s World Series, albeit a much lower-profile matchup of Atlanta and Houston (6.1, 10.93M*).
Locally, Game 1 drew a 19.6 rating in Boston — topping Game 1 of the Celtics’ previous Finals against the Lakers in 2010 (19.1). The Bay Area turned in a 22.5, its lowest for a Warriors Finals opener in the Curry era. Golden State’s previous Finals openers averaged ratings of 26.4 (2019), 28.8 (2015), 30.9 (2017), 31.1 (2018) and 32.8 (2016).
In all likelihood, the 22.5 is the lowest for any Warriors Finals game in the Bay Area during the Curry era, but figures were not immediately available for Games 3 and 4 in 2019.
1 Final nationals for Game 1 (and all of Thursday’s broadcast network shows) had not been expected until Monday due to Nielsen’s typical holiday-week delays, but “arrived early” per ShowBuzz Daily. The Hollywood Reporter, which also reported the 11.4 million figure, said the numbers were “preliminary” and do not include out-of-home viewing, but were “labeled as final ratings from two sources.” ESPN on Friday night maintained that the official numbers would not be available until Monday.
[Nielsen estimates from Programming Insider 6.3, ShowBuzz Daily 6.3]
