The Eastern Conference Finals hit a series-high, and avoided a multi-year low, on Thursday night.
Thursday’s Raptors-Bucks NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 earned 6.23 million viewers on TNT, down 17% from Cavaliers-Celtics on ESPN last year (7.51M), but up 7% from Cavaliers-Celtics on TNT in 2017, a series-clincher that was decided by 33 points (5.83M). Ratings were not immediately available.
Versus last year’s conference final Game 5 on TNT, Warriors-Rockets, viewership fell a third from 9.32 million. Versus the previous conference final Game 5 to involve Toronto — which does not count toward U.S. television ratings — viewership increased 14% from the Raptors’ 38-point loss to Cleveland in 2016 (5.38M).
Three of the five Raptors-Bucks games have outdrawn the comparable games of Cavaliers-Raptors in 2016. Though that series involved LeBron James, it was also the least-watched East Final since 2004.
Toronto’s win not only avoided a multi-year low — the first game in the series to do so — it neared a multi-year high. Outside of last year, no ECF Game 5 has had a larger audience since 2014 (Heat-Pacers: 7.31M). Keep in mind that is a span of just four games.
Going back further, the historical comparison is less flattering. It ranks as the third-least watched conference final Game 5 since 2007, ahead of only Raptors-Cavaliers in ’16 and Cavaliers-Celtics in ’17.
Game 5 delivered the largest audience of the East Finals, topping Game 3 on Sunday night (6.16M), and the third-largest Raptors audience on U.S. television since 2001. The top two are Raptors-Sixers Game 7 in the second round (6.94M) and Raptors-Cavaliers Game 3 last year (6.35M).
In adults 18-49, the game pulled a 2.3 rating — down 15% from last year (2.7), but up a tick from 2017 (2.2). It had a 2.0 in adults 18-34, down 20% from last year (2.5) and even with 2017.
On the first night of the summer television season, the NBA dominated the night in each young adult demographic. The night’s top non-NBA shows failed to crack a 0.8 in 18-49 or a 0.5 in 18-34.
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 5.24]
