Game 1 of the Finals posts horrific TV ratings

[Dominator83]

NBA just got paid an historic amount of money for their new tv/streaming rights. I think they’ll be okay.

Yes their American ratings are lower now than what it was during the Jordan era but so is virtually every other program on tv as well outside of the NFL.

That’s why the NBA is making more money than ever now, they’re getting viewed more in terms of % vs the other shows on air at the same time. It’s weighted completely differently now.

You can’t compare how people view sports from the 80’s and 90’s to today. It is completely different with the internet, social media, and streaming. Doesn’t mean the sport is any less popular.

LOL!!! Fox just had 127 million viewers for the last Super Bowl, a new record number!

If Jordan and the Bulls were still around they would still be setting TV records the problem is there hasn’t been a transcendent player or team at that level since 1998, not Kobe/Shaq, not Duncan, not Lebron, not Curry or Tatum and as much as the NBA tries to force it’s just not gonna happen.

I'm a Jordan guy, but Lebron has absolutely been box office. It was really after the 2010 decision that the NBA blew up in popularity

[og15]

So uhh

Read on Twitter

One thing I read says bad ratings, the next thing says great ratings. So what is it?

I don't really care, I'm watching every second.

Well I guess the ratings are bad compared to years ago, but ratings are down for everything vs years ago. There are way more things to watch now and way more platforms.

So in that context the ratings are good, but the people who want them to be bad are still able to make the argument that they are bad since they've fallen from years ago.

Or something like that.

From what I cited earlier

It’s true that NBA ratings have been falling for years. Last year’s NBA Finals between the Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks averaged 11.3 million viewers, down 27% from 2014 (LeBron James was playing in those), and down 37% from 2004 (with the Lakers and Kobe Bryant). The ratings for the NBA playoffs are actually slightly up this year compared to a year ago. But more broadly, the entire TV ratings universe has fallen 54% in the last 10 years. “Linear TV” – broadcast and cable – now accounts for less than 50% of all the video viewing in the U.S. Is any of this breaking news anymore? Can we broaden our lens a bit in analyzing success and failure?

As the NBA’s SVP for Partnerships, Lauren Sullivan, told me in the midst of busy Finals prep, the new deal will bring 40% more nationally televised games during the regular season, including weekly national prime time broadcasts on NBC on Tuesday and Sunday nights, as well as a massive increase in nationally streamed games via Peacock and Amazon. There’s little or no ability to predict the future path of ratings, but in a world of future ratings blindness, the one-eyed live sports broadcast remains King. Although overall ratings have fallen for years, audience shares for events such as the NBA Finals are unmatched by anything in the entertainment programming world.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/howardhomonoff/2025/06/05/nba-finals-look-beyond-tv-ratings-for-keys-to-success/

They are also looking at things like engagement, and simple "linear TV ratings" is not the primary or only measure they look at since times have changed.

[FrobeBryant]

A lot of copium being passed around here..

[FarBeyondDriven]

won't be watching the rest of this clearly rigged series. Game 6 is going to have disastrous numbers

[Showtime 80]

You can’t compare how people view sports from the 80’s and 90’s to today. It is completely different with the internet, social media, and streaming. Doesn’t mean the sport is any less popular.

LOL!!! Fox just had 127 million viewers for the last Super Bowl, a new record number!

If Jordan and the Bulls were still around they would still be setting TV records the problem is there hasn’t been a transcendent player or team at that level since 1998, not Kobe/Shaq, not Duncan, not Lebron, not Curry or Tatum and as much as the NBA tries to force it’s just not gonna happen.

I'm a Jordan guy, but Lebron has absolutely been box office. It was really after the 2010 decision that the NBA blew up in popularity

Just another point in favor of the NBA turning from a sport into a WWE-like spectacle with an embarrassingly contrived event being credited for an increase in popularity rather than the quality of the product on the floor.

Even after the decision fiasco LeBron barely got to the Shaq/Kobe level in Finals ratings and that’s when playing against Curry which gave him a huge boost not to mention the fact that he was a part of two of tho worst rated Finals in history in 07 and 20 with the latter being the lowest of all time.

MJ still has the two most watch Finals of all time playing against Utah, just a different level of popularity with Magic and Bird a distant second.

[Optimus_Steel]

I am optimistic NBC and their return of coverage will help with the promotion/boost ratings and interest of the NBA, especially with the coup of getting Michael Jordan on board.

Amazon as well could end up introducing the NBA to a new global audience.

The excitement of two new expansion teams (which could be done as soon as this off sesson) will also be a big boost to the NBA.

I am cautiously optimistic things will turn around next season and beyond

As a Nascar fan I’ve felt NBC does a great job covering the races, significantly better than Fox. Now Amazon just started streaming races and they are doing a phenomenal job.

[jkvonny]

I figured the ratings would get significantly better after the excitement of game 1 but I was wrong.

It's just that these two teams don't have the starpower. Shai may be the MVP but he's not exactly charismatic and I don't ever see him becoming a big draw.

If it was a Knicks/Lakers series viewership would be massive but as a basketball fan this has been a really interesting and entertaining series so far.

Two small markets without any huge household names.

Reminds of the Pistons-Spurs finals from 2005...amazing series but didn't get the eyeballs.

2006 - we had Dirk, Wade, Shaq, two big markets
2007 - Spurs and Cleveland, we had Lebron making the finals
2008 - Lakers and Boston, big markets, classic rivalry, big 3, Kobe.
2009 - Lakers and Orlando, still had Kobe, big market, Dwight
2010 - Lakers and Boston again
2011 - Heat and Dallas, Big 3 Lebron, Wade, Bosh, Dirk, big market
2012 - Heat and OKC, Lebron vs. KD, many huge names.
2013 - Heat and Spurs - Lebron big 3
2014 - Rematch
2015 - Golden State with its golden boy Curry vs. Lebron
2016 - Rematch
2017 - Rematch
2018 - Rematch
2019 - Golden State Curry, KD, Klay and Toronto with Kawhi, two big markets
2020 - Lakers and Heat, big markets, Lebron, AD, Butler
2021 - Bucks and Suns, big names in Giannis, Paul, Booker
2022 - Golden State, Boston, big markets, Curry, Klay, Tatum, Brown
2023 - Denver and Miami, had big names in Jokic, Butler
2024 - Boston and Dallas, big markets, big names Luka, Kyrie, Tatum, Brown
2025 - OKC and Indiana, now Shai is a big name but he's a big household name yet outside of hardcore basketball circles and nobody expected Indy to do they are doing...it's the weakest in terms of markets and big names in a long time...

On that list.
The matchup of mid/small markets.

2025 Indiana/OKC
2021 Milwaukee/Phoenix
2007 Cleveland/San Antonio
2005 Detroit/San Antonio

The Miami ones are debatable (2023 vs Denver, 2013/2014 vs San Antonio and 2012 vs OKC). Miami is in that grey area similar to Phoenix (market size).

[Johnny Bball]

A lot of copium being passed around here..

do you know what streaming is?

[jkvonny]

This yrs NBA Finals way more exciting than last seasons.
These 2 small market teams putting on a show. Multiple lead changes throughout the games, coming down to the end. Close games. Evenly matched teams, although OKC has the better overall talent, Indy is well coached, cohesive, deep.

Last season? It was a dud. Celtics a great team dominated the overmatched Mavs team. A near sweep. It was ugly for a nuetral fan to watch. Very few lead changes in the games. Boston won a couple of those games leading wire to wire. Blowout losses for Dallas. Many of us struggled to watch those games in completion, entirety.
2 big market teams (Dallas, Boston) with stars. Yes. But it wasn't a memorable series.

[Daddy 801]

Hard to compare viewership of eras and not discuss that watching the NBA was free in the 90’s, and now it costs money to watch. The whole idea of TV was to be free and advertisers pay so it can reach a large market. Then we had streaming and it made sense to pay for a service with no advertisements. Now you have to pay for a streaming service and still sit through a **** ton of advertisements.

Seems obvious to me viewership would be down in general (not just NBA) when it’s a completely different model.

Maybe you can watch for free with one of those cheap satellite antennas? But who gets their TV through that anymore? I’m guessing not a whole lot of people.

[ReddoverKobe]

Shame, this has been one of the better series we have seen in a while.

[ItsDanger]

Hard to compare viewership of eras and not discuss that watching the NBA was free in the 90’s, and now it costs money to watch. The whole idea of TV was to be free and advertisers pay so it can reach a large market. Then we had streaming and it made sense to pay for a service with no advertisements. Now you have to pay for a streaming service and still sit through a **** ton of advertisements.

Seems obvious to me viewership would be down in general (not just NBA) when it’s a completely different model.

Maybe you can watch for free with one of those cheap satellite antennas? But who gets their TV through that anymore? I’m guessing not a whole lot of people.

This is definitely a factor. The more content online also gives the user more control. I routinely block any content source where advertising is an issue. Quantity, duration, type are all considerations.

[Dominator83]

LOL!!! Fox just had 127 million viewers for the last Super Bowl, a new record number!

If Jordan and the Bulls were still around they would still be setting TV records the problem is there hasn’t been a transcendent player or team at that level since 1998, not Kobe/Shaq, not Duncan, not Lebron, not Curry or Tatum and as much as the NBA tries to force it’s just not gonna happen.

I'm a Jordan guy, but Lebron has absolutely been box office. It was really after the 2010 decision that the NBA blew up in popularity

Just another point in favor of the NBA turning from a sport into a WWE-like spectacle with an embarrassingly contrived event being credited for an increase in popularity rather than the quality of the product on the floor.

Even after the decision fiasco LeBron barely got to the Shaq/Kobe level in Finals ratings and that’s when playing against Curry which gave him a huge boost not to mention the fact that he was a part of two of tho worst rated Finals in history in 07 and 20 with the latter being the lowest of all time.

MJ still has the two most watch Finals of all time playing against Utah, just a different level of popularity with Magic and Bird a distant second.

I will say that a much as i do think LeBron has been the driver of the NBA's popularity, they really don't have a good post-Lebron driver right now. They've been so desperate to keep milking as much as they can out of him, that last summer the player that got the most coverage was Bronny FFS then all of a sudden Doncic out of nowhere gets traded to his team. They need to be more like the NFL and sell teams. Because they don't have that Jordan, Bird, or Magic right now.

[Michael Bradley]

I'm a Jordan guy, but Lebron has absolutely been box office. It was really after the 2010 decision that the NBA blew up in popularity

Just another point in favor of the NBA turning from a sport into a WWE-like spectacle with an embarrassingly contrived event being credited for an increase in popularity rather than the quality of the product on the floor.

Even after the decision fiasco LeBron barely got to the Shaq/Kobe level in Finals ratings and that’s when playing against Curry which gave him a huge boost not to mention the fact that he was a part of two of tho worst rated Finals in history in 07 and 20 with the latter being the lowest of all time.

MJ still has the two most watch Finals of all time playing against Utah, just a different level of popularity with Magic and Bird a distant second.

I will say that a much as i do think LeBron has been the driver of the NBA's popularity, they really don't have a good post-Lebron driver right now. They've been so desperate to keep milking as much as they can out of him, that last summer the player that got the most coverage was Bronny FFS then all of a sudden Doncic out of nowhere gets traded to his team. They need to be more like the NFL and sell teams. Because they don't have that Jordan, Bird, or Magic right now.

The NBA has built around stars for years/decades. I've said before, the problem with that strategy is that the laundry never goes away. The players do. They retire, get hurt, decline, etc. You can't build a sustainable fan by telling them to root for a player. The NBA is seeing the downside of that strategy first hand now. I'm not sure they can close Pandora's Box. They need to find their next marketable star(s). Otherwise the ratings/casual interest issue will just continue.

[Memories]

A lot of copium being passed around here..

do you know what streaming is?

Funny how the NFL never has an issue with ratings today despite streaming services these days.

I wonder why that is?

[Johnny Bball]

A lot of copium being passed around here..

do you know what streaming is?

Funny how the NFL never has an issue with ratings today despite streaming services these days.

I wonder why that is?

Would you watch football games on only your phone?

[JellosJigglin]

You can’t compare how people view sports from the 80’s and 90’s to today. It is completely different with the internet, social media, and streaming. Doesn’t mean the sport is any less popular.

LOL!!! Fox just had 127 million viewers for the last Super Bowl, a new record number!

If Jordan and the Bulls were still around they would still be setting TV records the problem is there hasn’t been a transcendent player or team at that level since 1998, not Kobe/Shaq, not Duncan, not Lebron, not Curry or Tatum and as much as the NBA tries to force it’s just not gonna happen.

I'm a Jordan guy, but Lebron has absolutely been box office. It was really after the 2010 decision that the NBA blew up in popularity

Eh. The "boring" label has followed him his entire career. He wasn't an electric player in the way that MJ, Kobe, Vince, AI, even Wade were. Not to mention the last 10 years he's coasted for large stretches of the regular season or even taken games off entirely.

[ScrantonBulls]

LOL!!! Fox just had 127 million viewers for the last Super Bowl, a new record number!

If Jordan and the Bulls were still around they would still be setting TV records the problem is there hasn’t been a transcendent player or team at that level since 1998, not Kobe/Shaq, not Duncan, not Lebron, not Curry or Tatum and as much as the NBA tries to force it’s just not gonna happen.

I'm a Jordan guy, but Lebron has absolutely been box office. It was really after the 2010 decision that the NBA blew up in popularity

Eh. The "boring" label has followed him his entire career. He wasn't an electric player in the way that MJ, Kobe, Vince, AI, even Wade were. Not to mention the last 10 years he's coasted for large stretches of the regular season or even taken games off entirely.

He also made you stop watching your favorite team (Lakers) for nearly a decade that's near the top of his achievements. Is it because he surpassed Kobe's career sp quickly? Is that the reason you hate him?

Still boggles my mind that LeBron can upset somebody so much that they stop watching the team they love. Don't get me wrong, it's funny, but still crazy.

[Tottery]

UH-OH
https://frontofficesports.com/nba-finals-game-2-ratings-dip-even-after-record-low-opener/

Magic Johnson's definition of a superstar: "A person who can go on the road and sell the building out."

no superstar no ratings. it's a very concise definition that weeds out all the fakes/tweeners so i have to agree

so while i understand the hardcore and those who just want to see close games(which bottom line just means being entertained)
there is this overwhelming majority from BOTH groups that seek an entertaining close games finals. me, i'd rather see a beautiful blowout

but i think "entertainment comes in different forms. I am entertained by great artists(talents) creating great art

to address the above there's a better chance of seeing great things in sports if great stars are playing, and ergo great teams. cuz superstars and superteams do super things. and i don't mean haliburton's last minute heroics either. those are just great plays

i for one can wait for those singular moments and that's what ive been missing so far

I agree. SGA is great, but not a superstar. Not having 1 in the Finals would definitely affect ratings. Looking at the ratings for years featuring LBJ and Curry shows it.

Personally, I'm enjoying the series a lot and found myself rooting for the underdog.

The guy who just won MVP while leading one of the youngest teams ever to be in the NBA Finals isn’t a superstar?

Nope. I don't believe the name "Shai Gilgeous-Alexander" is a household name. Superstar transcends the sport. Meaning, people who don't keep up with basketball know the name. SGA is great, but he isn't going on the road and selling out games. We throw the term "superstar" around way too loosely. There aren't that many tbh.

[Memories]

do you know what streaming is?

Funny how the NFL never has an issue with ratings today despite streaming services these days.

I wonder why that is?

Would you watch football games on only your phone?

You didn't answer the question. Why is it that the NFL doesn't have these ratings issues yet the NBA does?

Even the NFL draft this year had better ratings than the Finals this year.