The Rockets/Warriors series continues to attract solid, if unspectacular, numbers.
Game 2 of the Rockets/Warriors NBA Western Conference Finals drew a 4.4 final rating and 6.9 million viewers on ESPN Thursday night, down 10% in ratings and 9% in viewership from Heat/Pacers last year (4.9, 7.5M) but up 42% and 49%, respectively, from Grizzlies/Spurs in 2013 (3.1, 4.6M).
Compared to last year’s Thunder/Spurs Game 2 on TNT, ratings and viewership increased 19% and 20%, respectively, from a 3.7 and 5.7 million.
The Warriors’ win ranks as the most-watched Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals since 2012, when Thunder/Spurs drew 7.3 million on TNT. Despite the three-year high, Thursday’s game earned the third-smallest audience for Game 2 of any conference final since 2008. Only Thunder/Spurs last year and Grizzlies/Spurs in 2013 drew fewer viewers.
The Game 2 performance was a repeat of Game 1 — which was the most-watched West Finals opener since 2012, but the third-least watched in either conference since 2008.
Game 2 had a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49, down 7% from Game 1 (2.9) but easily television’s top program of the night in the demo. With the television season now over, the game beat its closest competition by 69% — a re-run of The Big Bang Theory on CBS (1.6).
(Thu. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily, ESPN Media Zone; additional info from TV By the Numbers)
