NBA Finals 2016 Golden State Warriors Vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 05: Tristan Thompson #13 of the Cleveland Cavaliers contests a shot by Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the 2016 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — The second game of this year’s NBA Finals clash between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers saw a dip in viewers in comparison to Game 1 — Game 2 brought in 17.4 million viewers and a 6.5 rating among adults 18-49, a decrease of 10 percent in the demographic.
For ABC, the 11.8 overnight rating Sunday’s Game 2 received made it the second-most-watched Game 2 in network history. That figure is also 9 percent lower than last year’s Game 2, but is 16 percent higher than the Game 2 between the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat during the 2014 season.
The slip was the largest between two games in the NBA Finals since 2007 — LeBron James played in that game as well as a member of the Cavaliers, against the Spurs.
Overall, the first two games of these NBA Finals are averaging 18.3 million viewers. The first two games of the series have been the second-most-watched Games 1 and 2 in the Finals since ABC began broadcasting the series in 2003.
For network giant ESPN, Game 1 was the most-watched NBA game ever for its WatchESPN app, with an average minute audience of 347,000. Overall, the game drew 19.2 million viewers.
Outside the walls of Oracle Arena, the NHL’s San Jose Sharks have been competing for a championship of their own, playing in the team’s first Stanley Cup Final.
Saturday’s Game 3 of the series — an overtime victory for the Sharks — received a paltry 1.9 rating on NBC Sports Network. That’s the lowest figure for a Stanley Cup Final game since 2002, and tied the lowest recorded figure ever for a Final broadcast. In the Bay Area, the game posted a 6.2 overnight rating, a record for the Sharks playing in a game on any of the NBC family of networks. The same game drew a 28.2 overnight rating in Pittsburgh.
