2021 NBA Finals Game 1 ratings down from 2020

[1987_Lakers]

https://tvline.com/2021/07/07/tv-ratings-nba-finals-game-1-suns-bucks/

"In the latest TV ratings, ABC’s coverage of the NBA Finals opener averaged 6.4 million total viewers and a 2.1 rating, down 13 and 18 percent from the preliminary numbers for last year’s Game 1 (which was pandemic-delayed until August) yet still easily topping Tuesday in the demo.

...

NBC’s America’s Got Talent (6.9 mil/0.8, read recap) slipped two tenths in the demo yet managed to deliver Tuesday’s largest audience."

Thoughts?

[Airupthere]

I see a smirk. We know where this leads to.

[Shogon]

Thoughts? Two boring markets. No LeBron James. No LA. No Miami. People were locked up last year AND tv numbers just continue to dwindle across the board and have been for years, do they not?

A lot of nuance here. But also not that complicated or much to think about.

[SouBeachTalents]

Damn, well there goes that agenda

[8Ball]

Nobody cares unless the GOAT is playing.


Why is this news?

[lakerstekkenn]

Did they count DVR recordings ? because with the pandemic going away either people are getting out going to sports bars friends homes gatherings to drink hang out and smoke weed, others will DVR it, so maybe the ratings aren't down because everyone is still watching but in different ways ?

[hold this L]

Nobody cares unless the GOAT is playing.


Why is this news?

Ratings from last year's bubble were garbage to the previous seasons.

[8Ball]

Ratings from last year's bubble were garbage to the previous seasons.

Because zero fans in arenas.

This finals have arenas full of fans and its down.

[baudkarma]

Nobody cares unless the GOAT is playing.


Why is this news?

You make an excellent point. Four of the five most-watched games in NBA history featured Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Game 6 of the 1998 finals had a 22.3 rating and almost 36 million viewers. Jordan and the Bulls also played in six of the ten most watched playoff series in NBA history.

[Gohan]

Theres just a handful of lebron fans, they just use their alts to watch games

[8Ball]

You make an excellent point. Four of the five most-watched games in NBA history featured Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Game 6 of the 1998 finals had a 22.3 rating and almost 36 million viewers. Jordan and the Bulls also played in six of the ten most watched playoff series in NBA history.

TV was the only way to watch basketball games back then 20 years ago.


Ain't the same anymore. All those ratings in the 90s yet more money now than ever before.

[ArbitraryWater]

Ratings from last year's bubble were garbage to the previous seasons.

Across sports though. covid season, no fans.

[Mr. Woke]

I definitely don't care about the Finals this year.

Both the Suns and the Bucks got more lucky breaks than any other playoff team.

[kawhileonard2]

You make an excellent point. Four of the five most-watched games in NBA history featured Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Game 6 of the 1998 finals had a 22.3 rating and almost 36 million viewers. Jordan and the Bulls also played in six of the ten most watched playoff series in NBA history.This!

[hold this L]

Because zero fans in arenas.

This finals have arenas full of fans and its down.
No excuses, ratings last season were awful.

[TheCorporation]

The dumbass fans cried when it was LeBron vs Warriors every year and now we get the Suns vs the Bucks.

I hope you're happy.

[TheCorporation]

No excuses, ratings this season are awful.

I agree.

[hold this L]

The dumbass fans cried when it was LeBron vs Warriors every year and now we get the Suns vs the Bucks.

I hope you're happy.
Warriors Cavs ratings were on another level ratings wise :applause:

[TheCorporation]

Warriors Cavs ratings were on another level ratings wise :applause:

We da bess :rockon:

[hold this L]

We da bess :rockon:

https://64.media.tumblr.com/38fe55aa662f9c9f5c86cac0394ad5cb/3249a02411cffdfe-2b/s540x810/065459fbf50cdffc71f13773ecd95b1293aadd10.gifv

[TheCorporation]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/38fe55aa662f9c9f5c86cac0394ad5cb/3249a02411cffdfe-2b/s540x810/065459fbf50cdffc71f13773ecd95b1293aadd10.gifv

https://media.giphy.com/media/3o84U80Mkz2peGgQHC/giphy.gif

https://media.giphy.com/media/3o84U1lPRXrPImXJ4c/giphy.gif

[Orange_Cassidy]

https://tvline.com/2021/07/07/tv-ratings-nba-finals-game-1-suns-bucks/

"In the latest TV ratings, ABC’s coverage of the NBA Finals opener averaged 6.4 million total viewers and a 2.1 rating, down 13 and 18 percent from the preliminary numbers for last year’s Game 1 (which was pandemic-delayed until August) yet still easily topping Tuesday in the demo.

...

NBC’s America’s Got Talent (6.9 mil/0.8, read recap) slipped two tenths in the demo yet managed to deliver Tuesday’s largest audience."

Thoughts?

wait... so let me get this straight


lebron and his BLM anti white agenda drives away nearly every nba fan that doesn't guzzle lebrons man milk


then his fans disappear cause hes not in the finals and they're puffing their chest out cause the ratings dipped



you and your hero are cancer. the lakers brand might never recover either after lebrons retired. how many fans were driven away by him joining. then after all the fake laker fans leave when lebrons gone you'l see a huge dip in their fan base as well

they were once loved and respected worldwide for having kobe represent them. now they're just known as a place lebrons currently playing for.


and now whos supposed to take over for lebron when hes gone since the medias buried durant ( the only true successor )


instead guys like nick wright chose giannis to prop up. well now he's looked at as a joke and his team plays better in the playoffs without him. his legacy is ruined

this league is ruined

and so is this thread

the end

[TheCorporation]

wait... so let me get this straight


lebron and his BLM anti white agenda drives away nearly every nba fan that doesn't guzzle lebrons man milk


then his fans disappear cause hes not in the finals and they're puffing their chest out cause the ratings dipped



you and your hero are cancer. the lakers brand might never recover either after lebrons retired. how many fans were driven away by him joining. then after all the fake laker fans leave when lebrons gone you'l see a huge dip in their fan base as well

they were once loved and respected worldwide for having kobe represent them. now they're just known as a place lebrons currently playing for.


and now whos supposed to take over for lebron when hes gone since the medias buried durant ( the only true successor )


instead guys like nick wright chose giannis to prop up. well now he's looked at as a joke and his team plays better in the playoffs without him. his legacy is ruined

this league is ruined

and so is this thread

the end

3ball really? Another alt? Are you insane?

[Hey Yo]

When talking ratings, you cant compare this years to last. It should be compared to the 2019 season when their was no interruption in play due to the pandemic.

My guess would be game 1 of the 2019 Finals were much higher than this years.

[8Ball]

Warriors Cavs ratings were on another level ratings wise :applause:

Warriors / Lakers game in the play in got nearly 6M viewers.

If Warriors / Lakers healthy went up against the Nets the ratings would 20M+


2016 finals game 7 was one of the most watched games of all time ratings wise / global viewership wise.

[Orange_Cassidy]

3ball really? Another alt? Are you insane?

yes. 3 ball. thats who i am


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq_LakJTsIE

[RRR3]

wait... so let me get this straight


lebron and his BLM anti white agenda drives away nearly every nba fan that doesn't guzzle lebrons man milk


then his fans disappear cause hes not in the finals and they're puffing their chest out cause the ratings dipped



you and your hero are cancer. the lakers brand might never recover either after lebrons retired. how many fans were driven away by him joining. then after all the fake laker fans leave when lebrons gone you'l see a huge dip in their fan base as well

they were once loved and respected worldwide for having kobe represent them. now they're just known as a place lebrons currently playing for.


and now whos supposed to take over for lebron when hes gone since the medias buried durant ( the only true successor )


instead guys like nick wright chose giannis to prop up. well now he's looked at as a joke and his team plays better in the playoffs without him. his legacy is ruined

this league is ruined

and so is this thread

the end
Shut up Kenneth you ****ing bitch

[FatrickChewing]

3ball really? Another alt? Are you insane?

Kennethgriffin. Jeff really hated that clown. I really feel for the safety of the people that's close to him.

[Orange_Cassidy]

Kennethgriffin. Jeff really hated that clown. I really feel for the safety of the people that's close to him.

i heard hes taking griff to court and using steve as his attorney


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_th4Xe6Dsm4

[Manny98]

https://media.giphy.com/media/3o84U80Mkz2peGgQHC/giphy.gif

https://media.giphy.com/media/3o84U1lPRXrPImXJ4c/giphy.gif

https://i.postimg.cc/dtc9gGh7/tenor-1.gif

[RRR3]

https://i.postimg.cc/dtc9gGh7/tenor-1.gif
Lol far less popular than Bron and Curry. Cope.

[wagexslave]

I feel like they did a poor job marketing this one. They should have waited like a bit longer before starting it to advertise it and have some more commercials and media pieces on the Suns and Bucks players to build up hype. There's 2 small market teams, a lot of casuals simply don't know much about the teams and especially the role players. Like NFL waits an extra week between the Super Bowl to build some hype up for the matchup... NBA Finals didn't even wait the 5 days or whatever they originally planned, they started it up early.

And why would they ever get rid of the cursive NBA Finals logo, or the trophy on the court? Those were awesome. This new Finals logo looks like trash and it's a Youtube TV ad built in. Putting a cash grab in a generic looking Finals logo is just cheap and takes away the prestigious feeling of the old Finals marketing. Also I really wish TNT had the rights to announcing rights instead of trash ass ESPN. Idk about you guys but TNT is the one I like out of the 2. And the WCF had ESPN all series long too, I'm sick of hearing Van Gundy's annoying voice every time the Suns play. Kevin Harlan is so much better.

And of course we all know that all the fans who are mad their star player got injured isn't helping matters though... especially since teams in both mega markets LA and NY got injured and Suns/Bucks are the 2 teams that benefited from their misfortune. No doubt salt is preventing a lot of people from watching it.

[iamgine]

It's to be expected. It's Suns vs Bucks. Last season was Lebron's Lakers vs someone.

[jayfan]

Milwaukee is not a very compelling team. Even with Giannis.

Atlanta (with a healthy Trae) would have garnered better ratings.


.

[wagexslave]

Now this tweet says they're up. I'm so confused. Are they up or are they down?

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/6/1/AADZHuAACEiN.jpg

[wagexslave]

Nevermind, I googled it and they're up. So OP why did you make this thread?

[And1AllDay]

Nevermind, I googled it and they're up. So OP why did you make this thread?

he left a link in op, he didnt make it up

[wagexslave]

he left a link in op, he didnt make it up

Yet every result I'm seeing on Google says otherwise... up 13% from last year.

https://thespun.com/nba/phoenix-suns/tv-ratings-are-out-for-game-1-of-the-nba-finals

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/08/nba-finals-game-1-featuring-suns-bucks-attracts-8point5-million-viewers.html

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2021/07/nba-finals-ratings-bucks-suns-up-double-digits-still-low/

Edit: Nvm I see what happened. The link OP posted was about early estimates, while the articles today are about the full released ratings/viewership.

[DoctorP]

Thoughts? Two boring markets. No LeBron James. No LA. No Miami. People were locked up last year AND tv numbers just continue to dwindle across the board and have been for years, do they not?

A lot of nuance here. But also not that complicated or much to think about.

Ratings are up. Is this thread a Branstain agenda? :lol

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/263258/Game-1-Of-Finals-Averages-856M-Viewers-Up-13-Percent-From-2020

"ABC's coverage of Game 1 of The Finals between the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks averaged 8.56 million viewers, which was up 13 percent from last year's Game 1.The Phoenix Suns defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 118-105.
Game 1 of the 2019 Finals featuring the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors drew 13.31 million viewers, which itself was down 25 percent from 2018.
The 2020 Finals featured the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat."

[MadDog]

Ratings are up. Is this thread a Branstain agenda? :lol

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/263258/Game-1-Of-Finals-Averages-856M-Viewers-Up-13-Percent-From-2020

"ABC's coverage of Game 1 of The Finals between the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks averaged 8.56 million viewers, which was up 13 percent from last year's Game 1.The Phoenix Suns defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 118-105.
Game 1 of the 2019 Finals featuring the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors drew 13.31 million viewers, which itself was down 25 percent from 2018.
The 2020 Finals featured the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat."

:applause:

Traveling stiff arms are a thing of the past. Fans are ready to move on from an inferior product.

[Gudo]

Yet every result I'm seeing on Google says otherwise... up 13% from last year.

https://thespun.com/nba/phoenix-suns/tv-ratings-are-out-for-game-1-of-the-nba-finals

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/08/nba-finals-game-1-featuring-suns-bucks-attracts-8point5-million-viewers.html

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2021/07/nba-finals-ratings-bucks-suns-up-double-digits-still-low/

Edit: Nvm I see what happened. The link OP posted was about early estimates, while the articles today are about the full released ratings/viewership.

Lol, what the hell was the OP talking about? Goes to show how bronsexuals filter information in their heads. :oldlol:

[Cleverness]

Injuries to all the top stars/teams

Tiny markets

People watching on phones/computers (?)

Routines/habits drastically changed by the War on Covid-19

[Hey Yo]

When talking ratings, you cant compare this years to last. It should be compared to the 2019 season when their was no interruption in play due to the pandemic.

My guess would be game 1 of the 2019 Finals were much higher than this years.


Yep.... I was right. Funny that ESPN is now wanting to compare this years to last years.... even though they said last season didn't count. :oldlol:

"NBA media got angry last year when a few writers covered the disastrous ratings for the NBA Finals. They claimed you couldn’t compare an out-of-season event during a global pandemic to past seasons. Interestingly though, those same media members have constantly compared this season’s viewership to last season.

The change of heart is not hypocrisy, it’s desperation. Viewers’ interest in the NBA is so low that ESPN has now decided to count last season’s ratings after all.

Here’s why:

Had sports media writers stuck with its mindset that last year didn’t count in the ratings books, they’d have to admit that Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals averaged 8.56 million viewers on ABC, a 35% collapse from Game 1 in 2019.

Keep in mind, the media also told us that 2019 barely counted because the Raptors weren’t a USA team. So if 2019 tanked, what’s the word for 2021?

Please, let us know.

Oh, Game 1 is down 50% from Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals. Might be noteworthy.

Imagine bragging about getting 8.5 million viewers for the NBA Finals on ABC.

Because of the NBA’s epic collapse over the past few years, it’s become common for the NBA media to mislead its readers and viewers.

At the start of the season, The Associated Press put a story on its homepage bragging that the NBA’s opening week was up 95% in viewership year over year. That sounded good, until it was exposed as disingenuous. The story failed to note that the calendar didn’t line up. In 2019, the season tipped off on October 22, 2019. However, due to COVID-19 rescheduling, the 2020 season tipped on December 23, 2020, meaning its opening week included an event known as Christmas Day, the NBA’s top-rated regular-season event.

Oh, so ratings didn’t bounce back, the gullible realized.

So, which is it, NBA? Are we going to count 2020’s all-time low ratings, or should we skip 2020 and compare the Finals to the past few seasons?

The choice is yours. Either way, the numbers show that your league is tanking at an unbelievable rate.

https://www.outkick.com/dont-listen-to-the-media-the-nba-finals-again-tanked/

[MadDog]

Yep.... I was right. Funny that ESPN is now wanting to compare this years to last years.... even though they said last season didn't count. :oldlol:

"NBA media got angry last year when a few writers covered the disastrous ratings for the NBA Finals. They claimed you couldn’t compare an out-of-season event during a global pandemic to past seasons. Interestingly though, those same media members have constantly compared this season’s viewership to last season.

The change of heart is not hypocrisy, it’s desperation. Viewers’ interest in the NBA is so low that ESPN has now decided to count last season’s ratings after all.

Here’s why:

Had sports media writers stuck with its mindset that last year didn’t count in the ratings books, they’d have to admit that Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals averaged 8.56 million viewers on ABC, a 35% collapse from Game 1 in 2019.

Keep in mind, the media also told us that 2019 barely counted because the Raptors weren’t a USA team. So if 2019 tanked, what’s the word for 2021?

Please, let us know.

Oh, Game 1 is down 50% from Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals. Might be noteworthy.

Imagine bragging about getting 8.5 million viewers for the NBA Finals on ABC.

Because of the NBA’s epic collapse over the past few years, it’s become common for the NBA media to mislead its readers and viewers.

At the start of the season, The Associated Press put a story on its homepage bragging that the NBA’s opening week was up 95% in viewership year over year. That sounded good, until it was exposed as disingenuous. The story failed to note that the calendar didn’t line up. In 2019, the season tipped off on October 22, 2019. However, due to COVID-19 rescheduling, the 2020 season tipped on December 23, 2020, meaning its opening week included an event known as Christmas Day, the NBA’s top-rated regular-season event.

Oh, so ratings didn’t bounce back, the gullible realized.

So, which is it, NBA? Are we going to count 2020’s all-time low ratings, or should we skip 2020 and compare the Finals to the past few seasons?

The choice is yours. Either way, the numbers show that your league is tanking at an unbelievable rate.

https://www.outkick.com/dont-listen-to-the-media-the-nba-finals-again-tanked/

Nuhhh-no! The ratings CANT be real! People still wanna watch my man! :cry: Shut up bitch. :oldlol: The people have spoken, and they're ready to move on.

[Hey Yo]

Meltdog shook by facts. ..........time to eat crow bitch.

[outofstomach]

wait... so let me get this straight


lebron and his BLM anti white agenda drives away nearly every nba fan that doesn't guzzle lebrons man milk


then his fans disappear cause hes not in the finals and they're puffing their chest out cause the ratings dipped



you and your hero are cancer. the lakers brand might never recover either after lebrons retired. how many fans were driven away by him joining. then after all the fake laker fans leave when lebrons gone you'l see a huge dip in their fan base as well

they were once loved and respected worldwide for having kobe represent them. now they're just known as a place lebrons currently playing for.


and now whos supposed to take over for lebron when hes gone since the medias buried durant ( the only true successor )


instead guys like nick wright chose giannis to prop up. well now he's looked at as a joke and his team plays better in the playoffs without him. his legacy is ruined

this league is ruined

and so is this thread

the end
ether

[FKAri]

No one on this site would relish the decline of the sport as much as I would. A 50% decline since 2018 is a step in the right direction but there's lots of work still to be done.

[And1AllDay]

Nuhhh-no! The ratings CANT be real! People still wanna watch my man! :cry: Shut up bitch. :oldlol: The people have spoken, and they're ready to move on.

meltdog

[Cleverness]

No one on this site would relish the decline of the sport as much as I would. A 50% decline since 2018 is a step in the right direction but there's lots of work still to be done.

Decline of the sport or the NBA? Also, why?

[SATAN]

covid

[rmt]

OP posted preliminary results. Wait and ratings are UP 13%

[outofstomach]

Nuhhh-no! The ratings CANT be real! People still wanna watch my man! :cry: Shut up bitch. :oldlol: The people have spoken, and they're ready to move on.oh my god :lol :lol

[Lakers Legend#32]

No Lakers. Nobody Cares.