The NBA’s lowest-profile first round series delivered one of the league’s smallest Game 7 audiences in recent years.
Game 7 of the Pacers/Raptors NBA playoff series scored 3.6 million viewers on TNT Sunday night, the second-smallest audience for a Game 7 since Bucks/Hawks on ABC in 2010 (3.0M). Over that span, only Hawks/Pacers Game 7 in 2014 had a smaller audience (3.62M compared to 3.64M).
The last Game 7 to involve the Raptors, a Canadian team that does not count toward U.S. television ratings, had 4.8 million viewers on ABC (against the Nets in 2014).
The previous day, Game 1 of Thunder/Spurs also had 3.6 million viewers — down 25% from Spurs/Clippers Game 7 last year (4.8M) and down 39% from Grizzlies/Thunder Game 7 in 2014 (5.8M). Compared to the last second round opener to take place on a Saturday night, Sixers/Celtics in 2012, viewership dropped 16% from 4.3 million.
Shifting to Friday night, Game 6 of Heat/Hornets had a 1.5 final rating and 2.3 million viewers on ESPN — up 15% in ratings and 16% in viewership from Hawks/Nets last year (1.3, 2.0M) but down 29% in both measures from Spurs/Mavericks in 2014 (2.1, 3.3M), which did not face the NFL Draft.
The Clippers/Blazers nightcap had a 1.8 and 2.9 million, down 38% in ratings and 31% in viewership from Rockets/Blazers in 2014 (2.9, 4.3M). There was no comparable window last year.
Returning to the Raptors/Pacers series, Game 6 had 272,000 viewers on NBA TV. Viewership on ESPNEWS was not immediately available.
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily [1], [2], Programming Insider)
