The numbers were not necessarily spectacular, but the NBA Playoffs has emerged as perhaps the dominant player in May sweeps.
Wednesday’s Rockets-Spurs NBA Playoffs Game 2 earned a 3.0 final rating and 4.8 million viewers on TNT, down 6% in ratings but up 1% in viewership from Clippers-Rockets in 2015 (3.2, 4.7M). There was no comparable window last year.
The Spurs’ blowout win was the night’s top program in adults 18-49, edging the once-dominant FOX show Empire (2.0 to 1.9). It was also the night’s top draw in adults 18-34 (2.0). The NBA has now at least tied for first place in adults 18-49 — long the most important demographic in television, for better or worse — on 12 of 18 days this postseason.
Earlier in the night, Raptors-Cavaliers Game 2 had 3.5 million — up a fraction of a percent from Hawks-Cavaliers last year (3.5M) and down 15% from Bulls-Cavaliers in 2015 (4.1M). Ratings were not immediately available.
The two Raptors-Cavaliers games have been the least-watched of the second round (seven telecasts) and by a decent margin. Neither game has cracked 3.6 million viewers, while none of the other games have fallen below 4.1 million.
(Wed. numbers via Programming Insider 5.4)
