Although only one game of the 2024 NBA Finals has concluded, the viewership that it has generated does not appear to be painting a good image of the franchises competing for a title. As most fans should be aware, the NBA Finals is the largest platform to showcase the best talents in the league. While there are several fans who tend to ignore regular season games, the same cannot be said about the playoffs and the NBA Finals.
While all Finals are generally treated the same by the league and players, each one is viewed different by the fans themselves. Some Finals series can be considered boring and not as exciting based on the feelings towards the players and teams expected to participate. With that being said, let us take a closer look at the viewership for Game 1 and how it compares to the Finals of the past.
The number of views for the 2024 NBA Finals has reduced drastically since last season
A recent report revealed that the viewership numbers for Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks declined by 5% when compare to Game 1 of the 2023 Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat.
This is quite a surprising statistic given that the amount of fans are supposed to increase gradually with the passing of time. After all, fans who have been following postseason games for years and expected to continue doing the same and new fans for the sport add to that list.
Ratings and viewership for yesterday’s Game 1 declined by 5% compared to last year’s Heat-Nuggets Game 1, per @paulsen_smw
“The Dallas Mavericks failed to show up in Game 1 of the NBA Finals — and so did the viewers.” pic.twitter.com/YGTDSWjnQh
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 7, 2024
While there is no solid explanation for why the views have decreased, some believe that it has to do with the promotion of the NBA Finals. Others pointed out that the large gap in the score between the Celtics and Mavs during Game 1 led to fewer fans feeling inclined towards watching the games.
Although there is no way of knowing for certain why the viewership ratings have reduced this season, the fact that it has remains unchanged. Upon hearing this, some members of the basketball community may wonder which Finals series over the past few years generated the most amount of viewership.
What is the most viewed Finals series in recent times?
Before getting into the actual numbers, it is important for fans to keep in mind that the concluding games of the NBA Finals usually have a greater amount of views when compared to the initial 4 games. Game 1 between the Celtics and Mavs brought in 10.99 million views from across the world. In comparison Game 1 of the 2023 Finals brought in 11.58 million views.
It turns out that any Finals with Steph Curry playing at a high level with the Golden State Warriors tend to do better in terms of viewership when compared to the rest. Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals had 11.90 million views. Moreover, Game 1 of the 2019 NBA Finals had an impressive 13.51 million views.
None of the other Finals series over the past 5 years come close to gaining the amount of views that GSW does when they make it to the largest stage. In any case, some fans are left wondering if the viewership for these Finals will pick up pace as it reaches a climax.