The NBA’s second round delivered a pair of viewership increases and topped the day in sports viewing for Monday, May 6.
Monday’s Pacers-Knicks second round NBA playoff Game 1 averaged 4.77 million viewers across TNT (4.25M) and truTV (513K), up 1% from Sixers-Celtics a year ago (4.74M) and the top sportscast of the day. The Timberwolves’ Game 2 rout of the Nuggets followed with 4.67 million (TNT: 4.06M; truTV: 609K), up 3% from Suns-Nuggets last year (4.54M).
The first three games of the second round have increased over last year’s equivalent window, a streak destined to end Tuesday, when last year’s comparable windows will begin to include Lakers-Warriors. Through Monday, the NBA Playoffs was averaging 3.24 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, TNT/truTV and NBA TV — down 8% from 3.54 million a year ago.
Shifting to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Bruins-Panthers Game 1 averaged 1.85 million on ESPN — unsurprisingly down 10% from Rangers-Devils Game 7 in the same window last year (2.05M) but the second-largest Game 1 audience on cable in the past nine years. Only Hurricanes-Rangers the previous day averaged more viewers.
No other sportscast Monday cracked even the 300,000 viewer mark, as a Manchester United-Crystal Palace English Premier League match topped the non-playoff slate with just 259,000 on USA Network.
Further down the dial, FS1 drew 250,000 for a Tigers-Guardians Major League Baseball game, followed by primetime regional action on MLB Network at 150,000.
Monday, May 6 sports ratings
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Original chart below:
