This year’s NBA playoffs and Finals faced some major challenges when it came to television viewership, and the end result was the least-watched championship series on record.
As relayed by veteran sports media reporter Ryan Glasspiegel of Outkick, the Los Angeles’ Lakers title-winning series over the Miami Heat averaged just 7.45 million viewers for the six games, with Game 3 dipping to the all-time low of 5.94 million.
“The last time LeBron James played in the NBA Finals, in 2018 Cavs-Warriors, the games averaged 17.56 million viewers,” Glasspiegel wrote. “This year represents a 57.6% drop from that.”
The explanations for the drop in viewership have been all over the board, but one thing that cannot be denied is the NBA’s postseason never before had to square off with the NFL regular season and MLB playoffs. Historically, the NFL dominates everything else on TV, cable or otherwise.
At any rate, the numbers are the numbers and for the NBA, they were declining even before the season was suspended in March.
While the league is far from panicked, it does intend to take steps to see how it can appeal to a larger audience and better draw in viewers for the 2020-21 season, multiple sources have told Amico Hoops.
TV viewership, down in all sports, is considered the largest barometer of fan interest and TV contracts typically a league’s largest source of revenue.
As Glasspiegel noted, NBA television ratings have been recorded since 1986.
