Kirk Van Houten
Registered User
- May 7, 2019
- 1,176
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Surprisingly slow start for Celtics-Warriors NBA Finals
Back in its normal time of year, and featuring a marquee matchup of Stephen Curry’s Warriors against the storied Celtics, the NBA Finals got off to a less-than-impressive start. Thursday’s Celtics-Warriors NBA Finals Game 1 averaged a 6.4 rating and 11.9 million viewers across ABC (6.1, 11.4M) and ESPN2 (0.31, 501K), topping only the past two years as the lowest for the series opener since 2007 (Cavaliers-Spurs: 6.3, 9.21M).
If a marked improvement over the past two years, Thursday’s Game 1 ratings would have to be considered a disappointment. Prior to 2019, 29-straight Finals games averaged at least a 9.0 rating and 56-straight averaged at least 14 million viewers. A Finals rating in the 6.0 range was the domain of the mid-2000s Spurs, whose annual defensive slogs plumbed the ratings depths. Far better numbers could have been expected for a series pitting the league’s biggest draw against its most storied franchise, both hailing from top-ten media markets.
Then again, as strong as the NBA’s numbers have been at times this postseason, there were signs in recent weeks that the league’s momentum has slowed. Even last Sunday’s Celtics-Heat Game 7 was an underwhelming draw by historical standards, its mere 4.6 rating easily the lowest for a conference final Game 7 in the past 25 years. Out-of-home viewing made the audience figure look more respectable — nearly ten million — but even that was the smallest audience for a conference final Game 7 since 2005.
Back in its normal time of year, and featuring a marquee matchup of Stephen Curry’s Warriors against the storied Celtics, the NBA Finals got off to a less-than-impressive start. Thursday’s Celtics-Warriors NBA Finals Game 1 averaged a 6.4 rating and 11.9 million viewers across ABC (6.1, 11.4M) and ESPN2 (0.31, 501K), topping only the past two years as the lowest for the series opener since 2007 (Cavaliers-Spurs: 6.3, 9.21M).
If a marked improvement over the past two years, Thursday’s Game 1 ratings would have to be considered a disappointment. Prior to 2019, 29-straight Finals games averaged at least a 9.0 rating and 56-straight averaged at least 14 million viewers. A Finals rating in the 6.0 range was the domain of the mid-2000s Spurs, whose annual defensive slogs plumbed the ratings depths. Far better numbers could have been expected for a series pitting the league’s biggest draw against its most storied franchise, both hailing from top-ten media markets.
Then again, as strong as the NBA’s numbers have been at times this postseason, there were signs in recent weeks that the league’s momentum has slowed. Even last Sunday’s Celtics-Heat Game 7 was an underwhelming draw by historical standards, its mere 4.6 rating easily the lowest for a conference final Game 7 in the past 25 years. Out-of-home viewing made the audience figure look more respectable — nearly ten million — but even that was the smallest audience for a conference final Game 7 since 2005.
