No LeBron James and competition from The Masters contributed to a sharp drop for the first weekend of the NBA Playoffs. For eight games across TNT, ESPN and ABC on Saturday and Sunday, an average of 2.8 million viewers watched NBA Playoff games, which is the lowest level for the first weekend in at least a decade. During those 10 years, the opening weekend always had James and never had to compete with The Masters. This year’s eight-game slate was down 31% compared to last year, and down 29% from two years ago.
FROZEN SECTION: ESPN2 drew only 321,000 viewers for the NCAA men’s ice hockey championship on Saturday night, which saw Minnesota-Duluth win its second straight title. The game marked the lowest audience for the title game in at least a decade. Six times in the last decade, the game was on ESPN, but that net carried UFC prelims on Saturday night. The UMD-UMass matchup also had competition in the window from the NBA Playoffs (ABC), NASCAR (Fox) and NHL (NBC). The Maple Leafs-Bruins game on Saturday night also may have siphoned off some of the UMass audience in the Boston media market. Last year on ESPN2, UMD-Notre Dame drew 653,000 viewers.
The chart below lists final audience figures from select recent sports telecasts.
| TELECAST |
DATE
|
NET
|
TIME (ET)
|
RAT.
|
VIEWERS
(000)
|
NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
Virginia-Texas Tech |
4/8
|
CBS
|
9:18-11:54pm
|
11.6
|
19,723
|
| The Masters: Final Round* |
4/14
|
CBS
|
9:00am-2:54pm
|
6.9
|
10,810
|
| The Masters: Third Round |
4/13
|
CBS
|
3:30-7:00pm
|
5.5
|
8,627
|
| "NCAA Basketball Championship Pregame" |
4/8
|
CBS
|
8:30-9:18pm
|
4.6
|
7,469
|
NBA Playoffs: First Round:
Clippers-Warriors: Game 1 |
4/13
|
ABC
|
8:15-10:55pm
|
3.0
|
4,826
|
| The Masters: Final Round (encore)* |
4/14
|
CBS
|
2:54-7:00pm
|
3.0
|
4,543
|
NBA Playoffs: First Round:
Thunder-Trail Blazers: Game 1 |
4/14
|
ABC
|
3:30-6:15pm
|
2.6
|
3,897
|
| The Masters: Second Round |
4/12
|
ESPN
|
3:00-7:10pm
|
2.3
|
3,228
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Jazz-Rockets: Game 1 |
4/14
|
TNT
|
9:38pm-12:06am
|
1.9
|
3,040
|
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series:
Toyota Owners 400 (Richmond) |
4/13
|
Fox
|
7:47-10:52pm
|
1.7
|
2,787
|
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Pistons-Bucks: Game 1 |
4/14
|
TNT
|
7:08-9:38pm
|
1.6
|
2,663
|
| The Masters: First Round |
4/11
|
ESPN
|
3:00-7:34pm
|
1.7
|
2,482
|
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Magic-Raptors: Game 1 |
4/13
|
ESPN
|
5:19-7:37pm
|
1.5
|
2,444
|
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Nets-76ers: Game 1 |
4/13
|
ESPN
|
2:40-5:19pm
|
1.3
|
2,043
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Spurs-Nuggets: Game 1 |
4/13
|
ESPN
|
10:30pm-12:59am
|
1.1
|
1,828
|
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Pacers-Celtics: Game 1 |
4/14
|
TNT
|
1:08-3:36pm
|
1.2
|
1,806
|
NHL Playoffs: First Round:
Maple Leafs-Bruins: Game 2 |
4/13
|
NBC
|
8:06-11:00pm
|
1.0
|
1,706
|
| NBA: Rockets-Thunder |
4/9
|
TNT
|
9:39pm-12:10am
|
0.9
|
1,325
|
| MLB: Mets-Braves |
4/14
|
ESPN
|
7:33-11:16pm
|
0.8
|
1,232
|
NHL Playoffs: First Round:
Islanders-Penguins: Game 3 |
4/14
|
NBC
|
12:15-3:00pm
|
0.8
|
1,226
|
NHL Playoffs: First Round:
Hurricanes-Capitals: Game 2 |
4/13
|
NBC
|
3:13-6:15pm
|
0.8
|
1187
|
| Liga MX: Cruz Azul-Club America |
4/14
|
UniMas
|
7:00-9:05pm
|
0.6
|
1,162
|
| World Figure Skating Championships (taped) |
4/14
|
NBC
|
3:00-6:00pm
|
0.8
|
1,123
|
| Liga MX: Chivas-Monarcas |
4/13
|
Univision
|
9:55pm-12:05am
|
0.6
|
1,067
|
| EPL: West Ham-Manchester United |
4/13
|
NBC
|
12:30-2:30pm
|
0.6
|
905
|
NHRA: Mopar Express Lane
SpringNationals (Houston) |
4/14
|
Fox
|
3:00-5:15pm
|
0.6
|
902
|
| "30 for 30": "Elway to Marino" |
4/13
|
ABC
|
3:30-5:00pm
|
0.4
|
494
|
NOTE: * = Live final round telecast was moved from 2:00pm to 9:00am to avoid inclement weather.
