The ratings for Game 1 of the NBA Finals are a good indication of where the Celtics land on the Boston sports landscape.
The Celtics’ Game 1 victory drew a 21.7/37 rating with 720,000 viewers in Boston. By comparison, Game 1 of last year’s World Series, featuring the Red Sox, drew a 50.4/70 rating.
While it is no surprise that the Red Sox are more popular than the Celtics, the disparity in ratings indicates that a large percentage of Boston sports fans could care less that their team is in the Finals. The 21.7 is even less impressive when one considers that Red Sox regular season games averaged a 12.2 rating in 2007.
In Los Angeles, Game 1 drew a 22.8/40 rating with 2.1 million viewers. Game 1 of the 2004 NBA Finals, featuring the Lakers and Pistons, drew a 29.3 rating in the L.A. market.
Overall, Los Angeles and Boston combined for 2.8 million of the 13.4 million viewers ABC drew for Game 1, or 21% of total viewership.
Nationally, Game 1 drew a 5.4 rating among adults 18-49, up 46% from last year, but down 23% from the last time the Lakers were in the Finals. By comparison, Game 1 of the 2007 World Series drew a 5.8 rating in the demo, while the highest rated Stanley Cup Finals game drew a 2.9.
Among men 18-49, Game 1 drew a 7.1 rating, up 39% from last year, but down 21% from the Lakers’ last Finals appearance.
Game 1 adults 18-49 ratings.
4.0: Nets/Spurs (Wed., 6/4/03, 8:30 PM ABC)
7.0: Pistons/Lakers (Sun., 6/6/04, 9 PM ABC)
4.4: Pistons/Spurs (Thu., 6/9/05, 9 PM ABC)
4.8: Heat Mavericks (Thu., 6/8/06, 9 PM ABC)
3.7: Cavaliers/Spurs (Thu., 6/7/07, 9 PM ABC)
5.4: Lakers/Celtics (Thu., 6/5/08, 9 PM ABC)
