On the court and in the ratings, the playoffs are a different animal than the regular season.
Wednesday’s Blazers-Warriors NBA Playoffs Game 2 earned 3.9 million viewers on TNT, up 49% from Blazers-Clippers last year (2.6M) and up 2% from Spurs-Clippers in 2015 (3.8M). Ratings were not immediately available.
The Warriors’ blowout win actually declined from their previous first round series, falling 11% from Game 2 against Houston last year (4.4M) and 4% from Game 2 against New Orleans in 2015 (4.1M), both on Mondays.
Even with that caveat, the numbers continued a strong run for the NBA Playoffs. Through Wednesday, nine of the 13 playoff games that can be compared to last year have posted an increase in viewership — seven by double-digits.
Earlier in the night, Thunder-Rockets Game 2 had 3.8 million — up 10% from Pistons-Cavaliers (3.4M) and up 48% from Blazers-Grizzlies in 2015 (2.5M).
On NBA TV, Hawks-Wizards Game 2 earned 468,000 — up 14% from Hornets-Heat last year (411K) and up 23% from Nets-Hawks in ’15 (380K). The national telecast was blacked out in the home markets. In Washington D.C., the Wizards’ win earned a 3.28 rating on CSN Plus (the Capitals were on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic), a record for a Wizards playoff game on the CSN networks.
For the night, Blazers-Warriors tied television’s highest rating in adults 18-49 (1.7), matching Survivor on CBS, the third time in five nights of the postseason that the NBA has at least tied for first place in the demo (it took the top three spots on Saturday and the top two on Sunday).
In adults 18-34, Blazers-Warriors (1.8) and Thunder Rockets (1.6) cruised past Survivor (1.0) as the night’s top program. It was the second straight night, and the fourth of five, that the NBA took at least the top two spots in the demo (Love & Hip Hop took top honors on Monday).
(Wed. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 4.20, Washington Post 4.20)
