NBA Finals viewership is losing steam as the outcome is in less and less doubt.
Friday’s Nuggets-Heat NBA Finals Game 4 averaged a series-low 5.4 rating and 10.41 million viewers on ABC, down 14% from Warriors-Celtics last year (6.2, 12.06M) and ahead of only Lakers-Heat in the fanless, fall 2020 “bubble” (7.70M) as the least-watched Game 4 of the Finals since 2007 (Spurs-Cavaliers: 9.91M).
Denver’s comfortable win was the first game of the Finals to trail the equivalent game of Bucks-Suns in 2021, which aired out-of-season in the month of July. Game 4 of that series averaged 10.46 million the night after the MLB All-Star Game.
Outside of the COVID-affected series, it tops only Spurs-Cavaliers in ’07 and Spurs-Nets in 2003 (9.66M) as the least-watched Game 4 on record.
Game 4 was a markedly weaker draw than the first three games of the series, each of which averaged at least 11 million. Entering Monday’s potential series finale, Game 2 ranks as the most-watched of the series with 11.91 million. That is the only game Miami won, and the only game decided by less than 11 points.
It was also the first game of the series to decline by double-digits, as none of the prior three declined by more than three percent (the aforementioned Game 2 actually pulled dead even with last year).
Friday nights have traditionally been among the least-watched of any given week, though that has seemed to change in the out-of-home era. The two previous Friday Finals games in the out-of-home era — last year’s Game 4 and Game 5 in 2020 — both hit series-highs. It should be noted that both of those games were considerably closer in the final minutes.
Prior to the out-of-home era, Friday night games were among the weakest of a given Finals series. Friday games were the least-watched of the 2018 and 2019 Finals and the second-least watched in 2016 and 2017. Prior to 2016, there had not been a Friday night Finals game since 2003 — when the two games on the night were the least-watched of the series. In the NBC era, a Friday night game was the least-watched of all-but-one Finals from 1993 to 2002 — 1998, when the Bulls’ Sunday night 96-54 Game 3 rout of the Jazz was the least-watched of that series (and still averaged 25.7 million).
As usual, the NBA Finals dominated television in viewership and the key young adult demographics of 18-49 (3.2), 18-34 (2.7) and 25-54 (3.7). Compared to last year, ratings declined 11, 6 and 13 percent respectively from a 3.2, 2.7 and 3.7.
