Ratings for game two for the NBA Finals were a massive disappointment for the league according to the numbers, to make matters worse, game one was nearly as bad.
According to Anthony Crupi, game two was down 20 percent over last year.
“Game 2 of the NBA Finals did a 10.2 overnight rating in the 56 metered markets, down 20% vs the year-ago 12.7. The caveats about the loss of an entire stateside DMA, lack of LeBron, etc. still apply,” Crupi reported.
But game one had even fewer viewers: “Game 1 did a 10.1 overnight, which worked out to a 10-year low 13.3M/7.9 HH.”
Outkick the Coverage chief, Clay Travis, also found the ratings to be a sad reflection of the state of the league.
“Game 2 of the NBA playoffs was down 20% over last year’s series. Yikes. Even worse than game one,” Travis tweeted.
“Ratings for game 1 of NBA Finals were down 18% vs last year and hit a ten-year low for game one of the NBA Finals. NBA playoffs now down 14% on the year,” he tweeted several days earlier.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.