While Game 3 of the NBA Finals came down to the wire and ended in a 116-107 victory for the Indiana Pacers over the Oklahoma City Thunder, average viewership for the contest fell short of previous watermarks. This third game in the championship series was the lowest iteration of such since 1988 (excluding the 2020 bubble), according to data from Nielsen Media Research, averaging 9.19 million viewers on ABC. The contest was down 20% from the tilt between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks last year, which averaged 11.43 million viewers on the network.
Even so, the average was the highest of the series thus far and marks the first time the series crossed the threshold of at least 9 million viewers. Compared to Game 2 of the NBA Finals, which concluded with a 16-point win for the Thunder, viewership of the third game taking place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse was up by 5%. Across the first three games of the series, the NBA Finals is averaging 8.95 million viewers, representative of a 23% year-over-year diminution.
Indiana’s victory peaked with 11.54 million viewers watching the proceedings during the 11 p.m. EST quarter-hour, marking the highest peak of the ongoing NBA Finals series. The metric is down 17% from last year’s peak viewership in Game 3, which equated to 13.93 million viewers, when the Celtics faced the Mavericks. Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch added that the percentage of people using television during the NBA Finals has declined by 13% from the analogous point last year.
ESPN will continue to present the NBA Finals on ABC for the remainder of the series featuring play-by-play announcer Mike Breen alongside analysts Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson and reporter Jorge Sedano. With the Pacers’ victory on Wednesday night, the series is guaranteed to continue through at least Game 5 of the best-of-seven tilt. The Walt Disney Company will continue to hold broadcast rights for the NBA Finals under its new 11-year media rights deal with the National Basketball Association reportedly worth $2.62 billion per annum. ABC has been the exclusive broadcast home of the championship round since 2003.
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People who aren’t watching the NBA finals are morons and not true basketball fans. OKC and Indiana are way more entertaining than the Knicks, the Celtics, or the Lakers. And they are better teams, which is why they are here. So if you’re not watching because one of the big name, teams is in the finals, you’re missing out.
You’re probably watching Barbie Kluttz and the Chicago crash landing.