Continuing the overall trend, viewership continued to fall for the NBA Playoffs over the weekend.
Game 4 of the Rockets/Mavericks NBA playoff series drew 3.8 million viewers on TNT Sunday night, down 21% from Rockets/Blazers last year (4.7M) but up 17% from Nuggets/Warriors in 2013 (3.2M).
The Mavericks’ win concluded a clean sweep of declines, as all nine playoff games on cable from Friday to Sunday trailed last year.
Earlier in the night, Raptors/Wizards Game 4 drew 2.4 million — down 37% from Raptors/Nets last year (3.8M) and down a third from Spurs/Lakers in 2013 (3.5M).
On Saturday, Bulls/Bucks Game 4 drew 3.2 million on TNT — down 19% from Spurs/Mavericks last year (4.0M) but up 12% from Clippers/Grizzlies in 2013 (2.9M). Hawks/Nets Game 3 drew 2.1 million earlier in the day, down 30% from Pacers/Hawks last year (2.9M) and down 18% from Nets/Bulls in 2013 (2.5M).
ESPN drew 3.1 million for Game 4 of Warriors/Pelicans, down 10% from Heat/Bobcats last year (3.4M) but up 57% from Pacers/Hawks in 2013 (2.0M). Finally, Grizzlies/Blazers earned 2.6 million — down 43% from Thunder/Grizzlies last year (4.6M) and down 20% from Thunder/Rockets in 2013 (3.3M).
Through Sunday, viewership has declined for 22 of the 26 playoff games on cable (ESPN, ESPN2, TNT and NBA TV). Keep in mind last year was a particularly dramatic first round. The games have fared better compared to 2013, as only half have had declines.
