Once again, ratings and viewership declined for the NBA’s Conference Finals.
Game 5 between the Celtics and Magic drew a 4.4 U.S. rating and 6.8 million viewers on ESPN Wednesday night, down 21% in ratings and 26% in viewership from last year (5.6, 9.2 mil), but up 2% and 6%, respectively, from Pistons/Celtics Game 5 in ’08 (4.3, 6.4 mil).
The 6.8 million viewers is the second-fewest of the Conference Finals, ahead of only Magic/Celtics Game 3 on Saturday night (6.0 mil).
Ratings and viewership have declined for every single game of the Conference Finals, except for Celtics/Magic Game 1 on ABC (even in ratings) and Suns/Lakers Game 1 on TNT (no game on the comparable night last year).
Since Lakers/Suns Game 3 drew 8.5 million viewers on Sunday night, fewer viewers have tuned into each successive game of the Conference Finals.
Ratings/Viewership For NBA Conference Finals Through Wednesday
| Date | Game | # | Net | Rating | vs. ’09 | vs. ’08 | Viewers | vs. ’09 | vs. ’08 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., 5/16/10 | Celtics 92 | 1 | ABC |
4.5
|
even
|
-21%
|
7,030
|
-6%
|
-19%
|
| Magic 88 | |||||||||
| Mon., 5/17/10 | Suns 107 | 1 | TNT |
4.4
|
—
|
—
|
7,112
|
—
|
—
|
| Lakers 128 | |||||||||
| Tue., 5/18/10 | Celtics 95 | 2 | ESPN |
4.6
|
-8%
|
24%
|
7,156
|
-12%
|
32%
|
| Magic 92 | |||||||||
| Wed., 5/19/10 | Suns 112 | 2 | TNT |
4.4
|
-4%
|
7%
|
7,004
|
-4%
|
13%
|
| Lakers 124 | |||||||||
| Sat., 5/22/10 | Magic 71 | 3 | ESPN |
3.7
|
-32%
|
even
|
6,023
|
-31%
|
10%
|
| Celtics 94 | |||||||||
| Sun., 5/23/10 | Lakers 109 | 3 | TNT |
5.0
|
-7%
|
35%
|
8,460
|
-6%
|
48%
|
| Suns 118 | |||||||||
| Mon., 5/24/10 | Magic 96 | 4 | ESPN |
4.9
|
-16%
|
23%
|
7,960
|
18%
|
31%
|
| Celtics 92 | |||||||||
| Tue., 5/25/10 | Lakers 106 | 4 | TNT |
4.9
|
-22%
|
2%
|
7,641
|
-24%
|
5%
|
| Suns 115 | |||||||||
| Wed., 5/26/10 | Celtics 92 | 5 | ESPN |
4.4
|
-21%
|
2%
|
6,835
|
-26%
|
6%
|
| Magic 113 |
