Finals TV ratings discussion

[XxIronChainzxX]

Source?

Everything I heard indicates that this Finals had the lowest ratings in a while (for U.S. audience):

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nba-finals-close-strong-tv-ratings-thursday-june-13-2019-1218363


Through five games, the Finals averaged 14.33 million viewers, down 18 percent year to year — due in part to the Raptors playing in Canada, whose audience isn't measured by Nielsen. The series has been setting ratings records for NBA games in that country.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/254210/2019-NBA-Finals-Ratings-Up-From-2017-2018

*sigh*

A 6-game NBA Finals will always outdraw a 4-game sweep or a 5-game series (which is what we got in 2018 & 2017). The extra games is the only reason it averaged an overall higher series rating.

FYI:

https://awfulannouncing.com/ratings/nba-finals-game-6-posts-a-13-2-overnight-rating-down-from-game-5-and-middle-of-the-pack-relative-to-previous-game-6-ratings.html

Thursday’s Raptors-Warriors NBA Finals Game 6 earned a 13.2 overnight rating on ABC, down 6% from 2016 (14.1) and down 17% from 2015 (15.9), both of which were Warriors-Cavaliers matchups. There were no comparable games last year or in 2017.

The 13.2 is the lowest for a Game 6 in the NBA Finals since Celtics-Lakers in 2010 (12.3), but overall ranks a middle-of-the-road fifth out of the last ten (dating back to 2000). It trails the two Warriors-Cavaliers games, Spurs-Heat in 2013 (14.7) and Mavericks-Heat in 2011 (15.0).

The flaw with this analysis is that fewer higher rated games are better. I am not sure that is true. And if it is not true, then that's the clearest argument against super teams. And from the NBAs perspective, it's not necessarily a loss to have a much stronger foundation in Canada.

[floppymoose]

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/254210/2019-NBA-Finals-Ratings-Up-From-2017-2018

Remember all the threads about how people didn't want to watch the finals because of GS, or because Lebron wasn't there?

[jbk1234]

I mean there was no game 6 in 2017-18. The idea that close series are more entertaining than sweeps, or gentlemen's sweeps isn't exactly novel.

[spacemonkey]

Once a couple of generations die off, basketball will become America's #1 sport.

[Down3223]

It didn't go up in the USA for a 6 game series, It actually went down.

Better break down/context


2014-2015 - went 6 games

2015-2016 - went 7 games

2016-2017- went 5 games

2017-2018 - was a 4 game sweep

current series between Raptor and Warriors

After none of the first four games exceeded a 10.2 overnight rating, Game 6 was the second straight to top the 13.0 mark. The 13.2 marks a slight decline from Game 5 (13.4), but tops every other game of the series by at least 29%.

Thursday’s Raptors-Warriors NBA Finals Game 6 earned a 13.2 overnight rating on ABC, down 6% from 2016 (14.1) and down 17% from 2015 (15.9), both of which were Warriors-Cavaliers matchups. There were no comparable games last year or in 2017.

The 13.2 is the lowest for a Game 6 in the NBA Finals since Celtics-Lakers in 2010 (12.3), but overall ranks a middle-of-the-road fifth out of the last ten (dating back to 2000). It trails the two Warriors-Cavaliers games, Spurs-Heat in 2013 (14.7) and Mavericks-Heat in 2011 (15.0).

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2019/06/nba-finals-ratings-raptors-warriors-game-6-overnights/

[Down3223]

Raptors-Warriors among lower rated NBA Finals, but not too bad

The first NBA Finals to involve a Canadian team was the lowest rated and least-watched in a decade, but the numbers could have been worse.

The six-game Raptors-Warriors NBA Finals averaged an 8.8 rating and 15.00 million viewers on ABC, down 12% in ratings and 15% in viewership from last year’s four-game Warriors-Cavaliers series (10.0, 17.65M) and down 22% and 26% respectively from the five-game Warriors-Cavaliers series in 2017 (11.3, 20.41M).

Toronto’s win — the first championship for any “Big Four” Canadian team since the Blue Jays in 1993 — ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched NBA Finals in the U.S. since 2009 (Lakers-Magic: 8.4, 14.35M).

Figures do not include Canadian viewership, which is not tracked by Nielsen. Canadian averages were not immediately available; viewership ranged from 3.3 million for Game 1 to 8.0 million for Game 6.

The series marked a quiet end to a resurgent decade for the NBA Finals. It was just the second Finals in the 2010s to average a single-digit rating and fewer than 16 million viewers. The other was Heat-Spurs in 2014 (9.3, 15.52M). Both the 2014 Spurs and 2019 Raptors were led by Kawhi Leonard.

The numbers were still a far cry from the NBA’s mid-2000s lull. Of the seven NBA Finals from 2003-09, Raptors-Warriors averaged a higher rating than five and a larger audience than six.

Still, this year’s Finals ranks as the sixth-lowest rated since 1981 and seventh-least watched dating back to 1987. Since hitting an 11.6 in 2015 — the highest average since 2001 — Finals ratings have declined in four straight years (with the caveat that viewership increased in two of those years).

Considering the weak start to the series, the numbers could have been even lower. The first four games topped out at an 8.0 rating and fewer than 14 million viewers, with Game 4 the lowest rated and least-watched Finals game since 2007.

Games 5 and 6 were considerably stronger, both scoring a double-digit rating and at least 18 million viewers. The turning point may have been Golden State facing elimination; Kevin Durant‘s dramatic return from — and subsequent departure due to — injury; or some combination thereof.

Even with the lower-than-usual numbers, the NBA Finals outdrew the most recent World Series. Last year’s five-game Red Sox-Dodgers matchup averaged an 8.3 and 14.13 million on FOX. It trailed the NCAA Tournament Final Four, which averaged a 9.5 and 16.23 million over three games on CBS.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2019/06/raptors-warriors-ratings-decline-nba-finals-abc/

[Rainwater]

It didn't go up in the USA for a 6 game series, It actually went down.

Better break down/context


2014-2015 - went 6 games

2015-2016 - went 7 games

2016-2017- went 5 games

2017-2018 - was a 4 game sweep

current series between Raptor and Warriors

After none of the first four games exceeded a 10.2 overnight rating, Game 6 was the second straight to top the 13.0 mark. The 13.2 marks a slight decline from Game 5 (13.4), but tops every other game of the series by at least 29%.

Thursday’s Raptors-Warriors NBA Finals Game 6 earned a 13.2 overnight rating on ABC, down 6% from 2016 (14.1) and down 17% from 2015 (15.9), both of which were Warriors-Cavaliers matchups. There were no comparable games last year or in 2017.

The 13.2 is the lowest for a Game 6 in the NBA Finals since Celtics-Lakers in 2010 (12.3), but overall ranks a middle-of-the-road fifth out of the last ten (dating back to 2000). It trails the two Warriors-Cavaliers games, Spurs-Heat in 2013 (14.7) and Mavericks-Heat in 2011 (15.0).

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2019/06/nba-finals-ratings-raptors-warriors-game-6-overnights/

I don't know, it still needs more context. Part of the reason the numbers are not as good as prior years is because there is only one American team rather than two and Canadian ratings are not counted. I want to know the numbers if they included Canada. Nearly half their population watched the series. I think if they were counted I think rating would be a bit higher similar to previous years.

[Dominator83]

Who the hell watched that snoozefest of a finals last year?

[floppymoose]

But... but... but... Lebron!

[Chandler55]

I want to know the numbers if they included Canada. Nearly half their population watched the series. I think if they were counted I think rating would be a bit higher similar to previous years.

yeah what these numbers are missing is the fact that theres only one finals team's population watching instead of two. that normally adds what, 1-5 million watching? depending on the market.

[jokeboy86]

Once a couple of generations die off, basketball will become America's #1 sport.

Tell that to the southeast or the midwest. You have entire regions of the country where the basketball teams' popularity pales in comparison to their NFL counterpart, hell some of them aren't even more popular than the college football team. Oh and I gotta secret to tell you, most NBA teams aren't more popular than the MLB teams in their states.

[Raps in 4]

I mean, supposedly there were like 8 or 9 million Canadian viewers, iirc. It seems like that should count for a lot.

I know it isn't "American TV ratings," but at a certain point, isn't basing the Finals' popularity on American ratings kind of like evaluating a player based on a single, limited metric? Doesn't it totally miss the point?

I think it peaked at 13.5 million Canadians viewers.

We actually peaked at 15.9 million (44% of the population).

[Raps in 4]

Once a couple of generations die off, basketball will become America's #1 sport.

Tell that to the southeast or the midwest. You have entire regions of the country where the basketball teams' popularity pales in comparison to their NFL counterpart, hell some of them aren't even more popular than the college football team. Oh and I gotta secret to tell you, most NBA teams aren't more popular than the MLB teams in their states.

It's the same with hockey in Canada. Unless the NBA goes back to being artificially dominated by white Americans again, it's unlikely to ever become more than a niche sport. Maybe if the population ever becomes mixed enough, but that's a few hundred years away, at least.

[SFour]

I think the more important thing is that almost half of Canada tuned in to watch the Raptors win game 6...we'll be seeing the effect of this in 10-15 years when a lot more Canadians are being drafted into the NBA.

[SweetTouch]

A Lot of people I know that don’t watch sports we’re watching because they had bets on who would get injured next

[Raps in 4]

It didn't go up in the USA for a 6 game series, It actually went down.

Better break down/context


2014-2015 - went 6 games

2015-2016 - went 7 games

2016-2017- went 5 games

2017-2018 - was a 4 game sweep

current series between Raptor and Warriors

After none of the first four games exceeded a 10.2 overnight rating, Game 6 was the second straight to top the 13.0 mark. The 13.2 marks a slight decline from Game 5 (13.4), but tops every other game of the series by at least 29%.

Thursday’s Raptors-Warriors NBA Finals Game 6 earned a 13.2 overnight rating on ABC, down 6% from 2016 (14.1) and down 17% from 2015 (15.9), both of which were Warriors-Cavaliers matchups. There were no comparable games last year or in 2017.

The 13.2 is the lowest for a Game 6 in the NBA Finals since Celtics-Lakers in 2010 (12.3), but overall ranks a middle-of-the-road fifth out of the last ten (dating back to 2000). It trails the two Warriors-Cavaliers games, Spurs-Heat in 2013 (14.7) and Mavericks-Heat in 2011 (15.0).

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2019/06/nba-finals-ratings-raptors-warriors-game-6-overnights/

No **** it's on the low end. Only one of the two markets is being represented in those ratings.

That's like taking last year's final, and subtracting all viewers from Ohio.

[clyde21]

Once a couple of generations die off, basketball will become America's #1 sport.

quit easily, and thankfully baseball will fade into oblivion where it belongs

[Rainwater]

I mean, supposedly there were like 8 or 9 million Canadian viewers, iirc. It seems like that should count for a lot.

I know it isn't "American TV ratings," but at a certain point, isn't basing the Finals' popularity on American ratings kind of like evaluating a player based on a single, limited metric? Doesn't it totally miss the point?

I think it peaked at 13.5 million Canadians viewers.

We actually peaked at 15.9 million (44% of the population).

I thought it was 54% of the population?

[Cactus Jack]

Once a couple of generations die off, basketball will become America's #1 sport.

Nope.

Football firmly has that mantle. Nothing will change that. Not even the CTE epidemic.

The NBA can't & won't compete with the NFL (Ratings & Revenue). Sorry, but the gap is still quite significant.

Edit: Maybe if the league went to a single elimination playoff format (Like March Madness), it would help close the gap. But otherwise, not a chance.

[Raps in 4]

Once a couple of generations die off, basketball will become America's #1 sport.

quit easily, and thankfully baseball will fade into oblivion where it belongs

No it won't. Baseball is huge internationally too.