TV Ratings For The NBA Finals Hit All-Time Low With Game 1

The TV ratings for game one of the NBA Finals were absolutely atrocious when the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Miami Heat to open the series.

According to SportsMediaWatch.com, the Wednesday night game only averaged 7.41 million viewers on ABC. That’s “the lowest rated and least-watched NBA Finals game on record (dates back to 1988),” according to the same report.

Viewership is down 45% from game one of the NBA Finals in 2019.
 

Ratings: #NBAFinals opens with its smallest audience ever.

Viewership -45% from last year's Game 1 and -58% from Cavs-Warriors Game 1 in 2018.

Behind Lakers-Clippers (Christmas) as top game of season and barely ahead of last year's Game 1 -- of the WCF:https://t.co/Qo41Qc2xrQ

— Sports Media Watch (@paulsen_smw) October 1, 2020

There’s literally no way to spin this in favor of the NBA. There’s no way anyone on the planet can make these numbers appear positive.

People literally didn’t care at all about game one, and it featured LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.