Ratings For Early Round NBA And NHL Playoffs Are Up This Year

With a return to a normalized seasonal schedule, the ratings for early rounds of the NBA Playoffs and NHL Stanley Cup playoffs have rebounded when compared to recent years. Also, fueling this boost in viewing have been interest in legacy franchises, compelling matchups and a number of winner-take-all Game 7’s.

NBA: According to Sports Media Watch using Nielsen data, that even with the absence of LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, the first two rounds of the NBA playoffs across TNT, ESPN, ABC and NBA TV averaged 3.71 million viewers, the highest total since 2014. By comparison, last year the first two rounds delivered an average audience of 3.26 million viewers. During the pandemic postseason of 2020, the first two rounds averaged 2.43 million viewers. The last time the NBA postseason had started in April, in 2019, the early round games averaged 3.55 million viewers. When lower rated games on NBA TV are omitted the early round postseason games have averaged 4.08 million viewers.

Helping to fuel ratings was the return of the Golden State Warriors to the NBA postseason after a two-year hiatus. With core members of the three-time NBA Champions (2015, 2017-18) Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green returning. Game 1 of Western Conference semifinals (Golden State vs. Memphis) averaged 7.71 million viewers, the highest rated first or second round postseason game in ten years.

Another popular team in the 2022 postseason has been the Boston Celtics led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The storied franchise, seeking a record 18^th NBA title, started the playoffs with two marquee matchups against the pre-season favorite Brooklyn Nets (with Kevin Durant and former Celtic Kyrie Irving) and the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Game 1 of the first round Boston-Brooklyn series averaged 6.9 million viewers, the third most watched game of the first two rounds. Overall, the four-game sweep of Boston over Brooklyn aired on ABC, TNT and ESPN and averaged 4.88 million viewers, the most watched opening round series since 2016 (Golden State and Houston).

In the second round, despite a second half blowout, Game 7 between Boston and Milwaukee (won by Boston) on ABC averaged 7.48 million viewers, the second most watched early round playoff game and even outpaced 60 Minutes as the most watched program of the day. The other Game 7 saw Dallas upset top seed Phoenix (in another blowout) with an average audience of 6.29 million.

The second round Golden-State and Memphis series (won by Golden State in six games) averaged 5.92 million viewers. The seven-game Boston-Milwaukee series (won by Boston) averaged 5.28 million viewers. To no surprise either Golden State or Boston have played in 16 of 20 most watched early round post season games of the year.

Sportico notes with Nielsen now measuring out-of-home (not available in 2019) has helped boost viewership in the 2022 playoffs. With out-of-home viewing in such venues as sports bars will add significantly to ratings of premiere live sporting events.

Boston and Golden State are also legacy teams. With the NBA celebrating its 75^th anniversary, the Celtics and Warriors (started in Philadelphia) are two of the three franchises (along with the New York Knicks) that have played in every season since 1946-47. The Philadelphia Warriors were the BAA’s (Basketball Association of America, the NBA forerunner) first champion in 1947.

NHL: After more than a decade on NBCU, the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs aired on Disney and Turner Sports. The first round of the playoffs on ESPN, ESPN2, TNT and TBS averaged 768,000 viewers, an increase of 26% from last year’s first round (when some games aired on NBC) and the highest viewership since 2018 (785,000).

Helping to boost ratings was five of the eight opening round series went the full seven games. Front Office Sports reports the five Game 7s delivered a cumulative audience of 28 million across North American networks ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS, CBC, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports. By comparison, last year only one opening round series went the full seven games (Toronto and Montreal).

The opening round series that generated the greatest interest were the New York Rangers versus Pittsburgh. All but one of the seven game series averaged over one million viewers. The seventh game (won in overtime by the Rangers) averaged 2.33 million viewers on TBS, making it the most watched cablecast since 2018 and the most watched first round game on cable since at least 1994. The Rangers are the only original six franchises to advance to the second round of the playoffs.

Another seventh game that generated strong interest was between the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay eliminating Toronto. The deciding game on TNT averaged 1.68 million viewers, making it the second highest opening round game on cable. Toronto, an original six franchise, last won the Stanley Cup in 1967, the longest drought of any NHL team.

Another seven-game series was Carolina versus Boston (another original six franchise). The seventh game (won by Carolina) on ESPN averaged 1.63 million viewers. In the Western Conference, there were two series that went the full seven games, but neither generated as much interest. Edmonton’s Game 7 victory over Los Angeles averaged 1.06 million viewers on ESPN. Game 7 between Calgary and Dallas (won by Calgary) averaged 1.02 million viewers on ESPN2.

As the NBA and NHL playoffs prove, interest in live sports is thriving as interest in entertainment programming on linear broadcast and cable television wane. With the ratings upswing for early round NBA and NHL playoffs and based on the attention sports received during their recent upfront presentations, the importance of live sports cannot be understated.