Complete Ratings for the 2007 NBA Finals June 17, 2007 3:36 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Sports, Television.trackback
So just how much were the Finals off from last year? Continue reading to find out.
The NBA no doubt had hoped a match-up between the Spurs and Cavs with King James would certainly prove to be a larger ratings draw than say Spurs/Pistons, but instead it appears the audience simply was unwilling to even sample a series which they likely felt was over before it began.
These finals set a new mark for the lowest viewed of all-time (more on that below).
Cleveland was simply no match for San Antonio, who won their fourth championship in 9 years. Personally, I would have liked to have seen a Phoenix Suns/Cleveland Cavaliers Finals. I’m sure we would have at least had a couple high-scoring affairs. And with high-scoring contests, usually comes exciting games.
But enough of that. Without further delay, here are the 2007 breakdowns with a comparison from the year prior in parentheses.
Game 1
- Households – 6.3/11 — (7.8/14, -19.23%)
- Viewers – 9.21M — (11.51M, -19.98%)
- Adults 18-49 – 3.7/12 — (4.8/15, -22.92%)
Game 2
- Households – 5.6/10 — (8.0/14, -30%)
- Viewers – 8.55M — (12.41M, -31.1%)
- Adults 18-49 – 3.4/10 — (5.3/15, -35.85%)
Game 3
- Households – 6.4/11 — (8.0/14, -20%)
- Viewers – 9.49M — (12.25M, -22.53%)
- Adults 18-49 – 3.8/12 — (5.1/15, -25.49%)
Game 4
- Households – 6.5/12 — (7.8/14, -16.67%)
- Viewers – 9.91M — (11.56M, -14.27%)
- Adults 18-49 – 4.0/13 — (4.6/15, -12.88%)
Averaged out, the 2007 Finals pulled in a 6.2/11 HH rating, 9.29M viewers and a 3.7/12 A18-49 rating (vs. the 2006 Finals (Games 1-4): 7.9/14 HH rating, 11.93M viewers, 5.0/15 A18-49). That puts the loss against the first four games of the 2007 finals at 21.5% among households, 22.13% among viewers and 26% among adults 18-49. Including Games 5 and 6, the losses increase to 27.06% among households, 27.54% among viewers and 31.48% among adults 18-49 (2006 Finals through six games: 8.5/15 HH rating, 12.82 million viewers, 5.4/16).
Ratings definitely seemed to have rebounded some during Game 4 (the best performance compared against last year), but it would have had to make up a lot of ground to stay competitive with Game 5 (9.1/15 HH rating, 13.49M viewers and a 5.9/18 A18-49 rating) and Game 6 (10.1/18 HH rating, 15.71M viewers, 6.5/19 A18-49) from last year. Though had it gone more games, it would have likely been enough to not get itself labeled as the lowest viewed finals in history, which the series now holds the distinction of being.
So there you have it, while the Playoffs started off strong and were for the most part exciting, the games during the Finals were very sub-par and the ratings reflect that (again, an all-time low for finals viewed in primetime among households, viewers and adults 18-49). For whatever reason, television viewers simply aren’t interested in watching the Spurs play during the Finals.
The previous low (the 2003 Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New Jersey Nets) averaged the following ratings through four games: 6.3/11 HH rating, 9.53M viewers and a 4.0 rating among adults 18-49. And here are the ratings through the complete series (6 games): 6.5/12 HH rating, 9.83M viewers and a 4.1 rating among adults 18-49.
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