The lone Game 7 in the NBA’s first round dropped double-digits from last year.
Game 7 of the Spurs/Clippers NBA playoff series drew 4.8 million viewers on TNT Saturday night, down 18% from Grizzlies/Thunder last year (5.8M) but up 7% from Bulls/Nets in 2013 (4.4M). Keep in mind last year’s game was the second part of a rare Game 7 tripleheader.
The Clippers’ last-second win earned the fourth-smallest audience for an NBA Game 7 in the past five years — since Bucks/Hawks in 2010 (3.1M) — ahead of only Clippers/Grizzlies in 2012 (4.6M), Bulls/Nets in 2013, and Hawks/Pacers last year (3.6M). There have been 15 NBA Game 7s over that span, including nine in the first round.
Spurs/Clippers was likely impacted by the Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao boxing fight. While the fight did not begin until well after the game’s conclusion, the lead-up potentially stole away a few viewers.
In other action over the weekend, Game 6 of Hawks/Nets drew 2.0 million viewers on ESPN — down 39% from Spurs/Mavericks last year (3.3M) and down 43% from Knicks/Celtics in 2013 (3.5M). This year’s game aired opposite the NFL Draft, while the comparable games last year and in 2013 aired opposite other NBA playoff telecasts.
Overall, the first round of the playoffs did not fare well compared to last year. Of the 41 telecasts on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT and NBA TV, 34 had a year-over-year decline in viewership. Of those 34, 28 declined by double-digits. Compared to 2013, 21 of the 41 telecasts declined.
(Sat. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily)
