As Boston and Golden State bear down on respective trips to the NBA Finals, Adam Silver as well as TV executives have to be smiling. You probably couldn’t pick a better potential matchup when the postseason began, with the Celtics being one of the most storied franchises in league history and the Warriors returning to a comfortable spot playing for the championship after two years out of the playoffs – even if they weren’t the two early favorites when it came to the opening NBA Vegas Odds.
The timing is perfect for a Boston vs. Golden State Finals as well as the league still tries to get viewers back following a disastrous COVID bubble postseason in 2020 (in terms of ratings) and the loss of some fans who felt the NBA was getting too political. There are generations of Celtics fans spread across the United States, and Steph Curry is one of the top 2-3 most recognizable players to the casual fan so this could be the year the league declares they have returned.
The Long Road Back for the NBA
2020 was a disaster not only in the sports world but in the world as a whole thanks to the COVID pandemic. The NBA Bubble in Orlando has to be considered a success with zero positive tests, but even the playoffs felt like exhibition basketball with no home court advantage and no crowds in the stands.
Even having the Lakers in the 2020 NBA Finals couldn’t draw in viewers with ratings hitting a record low of 7.5 million viewers on average over the six games, a 51% drop from the previous year. Game 3 during that series drew just $5.9 million viewers, an NBA Finals all-time low. Even with the Los Angeles market, the Lakers clinched their 17th title in Game 6 still only pulled in 8.29 million viewers.
The NBA is starting to rebound as it’s just a much better watch when fans are in the stands. The 2021 Finals saw a 32% increase in viewership compared to 2020 and the Bucks winning the title in Game 6 against the Suns was seen by 12.52 million viewers.
2022 Playoffs Have Been a Success
There have been an inordinate amount of blowout games during these 2022 playoffs – especially the Conference Finals – but the NBA has to like the news that fans are still tuning in. The first three games of Warriors-Mavericks drew an average of 6.9 million viewers, up 34% from Clippers-Suns a year ago. The Eastern Conference has seen single-game viewership at its highest since Cavaliers-Celtics in 2018. Even with double-digit margins of victory in Games 1-4, Celtics-Heat is drawing four-year individual game-highs in viewership.
Even the first two rounds of the 2022 NBA postseason averaged 3.71 million viewers over four different networks (ESPN, ABC, TNT, NBATV) which are the highest levels seen in the last 8 seasons. That number goes up to 4.08 million when you eliminate NBATV, which is up 15% from last year.
Hopefully, Golden State and Boston can deliver a memorable NBA Finals (if they both make it) that enthrals fans and keeps building on popularity moving into the 2022/23 season.
