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Game 5 of the NBA Finals recorded a 2.0 Nielson rating, featuring a total of 5.7 million viewers.

The 5.7 million viewers represents the highest viewership of the NBA Finals thus far. 

Adam Silver is reportedly surprised by the low ratings of the NBA Finals, with Game 1 recording 5.31 million viewers. 

Game 5 was also the first game of the season broadcast on China's CCTV. 

Via Matt Webb Mitovich/TV Line

These are horribly low numbers. Last year, the Finals AVERAGED 15.14 million viewers, just in the US, and 2019 was the lowest average since 2009.

shrink wrote:These are horribly low numbers. Last year, the Finals AVERAGED 15.14 million viewers, just in the US, and 2019 was the lowest average since 2009.

Yeah it's insanely low. 1998 Finals had an average of 29.04 million viewers, and Game 6 had 35.89 million. People like to say that it was era without many great teams, but I don't care, that was a GREAT era. Games were far more entertaining, and the game wasn't constantly interrupted with reviews.

NBA basketball is a horrible consumer product. It’s run for the benefit of the players, not for the paying customer.