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.
