NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been privately caught off guard by the historically low television ratings for this season’s Finals, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Game 3 of the Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat was actually the least-watched NBA championship game on record, averaging a 3.1 rating and just 5.94 million viewers.
Game 4 was better, with an averaged of 7.54 million viewers, per Jon Paulsen of Sports Media Watch — but still down from even a regular-season matchup between the Lakers and LA Clippers on Christmas Day.
All Finals games are broadcast on ABC.
League officials citing several factors for the ratings decline, including a crowded marketplace with each of the four major professional sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL) returning at around the same time.
The NBA is expected to tip off the 2020-21 season in January or February, with the goal being for teams to return to their home markets and play in front of at least some fans. With that in mind, Silver reportedly would like to avoid a repeat of Finals game being played in October.
Of course, how the coronavirus pandemic is managed over the next few months will play a major role in where the NBA is able to go from here.
