If not the ratings draw one would expect in a normal year, Celtics-Raptors Game 7 still delivered cable’s best sports audience in months.
Friday’s Celtics-Raptors second round NBA playoff Game 7 averaged 4.69 million viewers on TNT, marking the largest audience for any sporting event on cable since the NFL Draft in April. The previous high was 4.65 million for Lakers-Rockets Game 3 on TNT last week.
Across all networks, it ranks sixth since the NFL Draft (through Friday) — behind the NFL Kickoff Game (20.54M), Kentucky Derby (9.26M), NASCAR’s return at Darlington (6.37M), the golf exhibition “The Match” (5.67M) and the aforementioned Rockets-Lakers game.
Boston’s narrow win was Friday’s top television program in all the key young demographics and — in a rarity — in viewership as well. No other show averaged more than 4.07 million viewers, and no show on broadcast television averaged more than 3.67 million. Overall, it was television’s most-watched Friday show since July 3.
Viewership still fell 32% from the previous second round Game 7, Toronto’s buzzer-beating win over Philadelphia on a Sunday night last May (6.94M). No second round Game 7 has had a smaller audience since 2004 (Nets-Pistons: 3.82M), though none of those previous games aired on a Friday in late summer.
The Raptors have played in two of the three least-watched second round Game 7s since 2004, with their 2016 win over Miami ranking third (5.75M). Toronto does not count toward U.S. TV ratings, though it should be noted that the Raptors are not always a drag. They played in the most-watched early round Game 7 since 2012 last year, and their 2001 Game 7 against the Sixers averaged more viewers (11.17M) than any early round game since.
Earlier Friday, Nuggets-Clippers Game 5 averaged 2.56 million viewers. It was the least-watched game of the series and, not coincidentally, the first to air in the 6:30 PM ET window (3:30 in Los Angeles and 4:30 in Denver). The game edged the previous day’s Lakers-Rockets Game 4 in a similar early window (2.50M), though it faced far less competition (Thursday’s game aired opposite the NFL season opener).
Nuggets-Clippers trailed only Celtics-Raptors as the day’s top program in the key young adult demos. As of Friday, the NBA had swept the top two spots in adults 18-34 and 18-49 on six of eight nights.
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 9.14]
