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Kings-Warriors Game 4 was the most-watched first round game since 2002



Kings-Warriors Game 4 was the most-watched first round game since 2002

by aaliyaahson

31 Comments

  1. aaliyaahson

    > Sunday’s Kings-Warriors first round NBA playoff Game 4 averaged a 4.0 rating and 7.52 million viewers on ABC, marking the largest first round NBA playoff audience in 21 years — since NBC’s final first round game in 2002 (Lakers-Trail Blazers Game 3: 8.6M). The previous high during the current TV deal was 7.24 million for Warriors-Rockets Game 4 in 2016.

    > Viewership for all four Kings-Warriors games has increased double-digits over last year’s equivalent windows, each of which featured Warriors-Nuggets.

  2. A game 7 in this series – assuming the drama continues – would probably be the first game in the first round to crack a 10million average since what
 the 1990s with MJ probably?

  3. ForoaKlanD

    Curry is the biggest draw and it isn’t close

  4. Booker_J

    The storylines are so good this year, with the added parity, and two of the most fun to watch offensive teams. I don’t see the nba wanting to nerf offense anytime soon if it leads to results like this.

  5. Good_NewsEveryone

    And it delivered. That was a banger

  6. masteraleph

    All of the games in this series have been really good so far. Even the “blowout” game 3 was really competitive for quite a while. And both teams have an extra gear where they end up playing at a speed that blows the other series out of the water (the Lakers/Grizzlies game last night was great to watch, but there were *so many* possessions in the fourth quarter where the Lakers basically stood around for 15 seconds before doing anything)

  7. Outland3r_

    What’s even crazier is the folks who watched it on illegal streams aren’t even factored into the equation

  8. ClydeGriffiths17

    One of the best 1st round series I can remember, and it sucks Fox is injured now.

  9. by_yes_i_mean_no

    The league is dying to break up the Warriors and make extended team identities and continuity a thing of the past and it’s not clear to me why. If you think these ratings are good, see what happens if the Warriors and Lakers advance to Round 2, the Warriors and Suns in the WCF, and the Warriors and Celtics in the Finals.

  10. waydamntired

    Have to work Thursday at 5 and games not on until 10 my time, so im just gonna be staying up to watch game 5. If its like games 1 and 4, itll be worth it.

  11. Winner1717

    What the kings finally making the playoffs does

  12. Roy_8886

    That’s good, the refs are allowing more contact, the teams are trading blows, etc… this is the real deal. Soft basketball with plenty of ghost fouls is simply unwatchable, I am a big fan and I just can’t stand how these players and rules are so goddamn soft. I almost renewed my League Pass subscription back when the league enforced the “Harden rule”, the games almost resembled real basketball… but that was a thing for like 2 months, here it comes the usual soft trash again

  13. Silken_Splendor

    Obviously biased but this series has been incredible, makes it hard watching some of the other ones.

  14. Jtm4lyfe

    Curry is so fun to watch. Dude just goes out there and does shit that shouldn’t be done at his age or at all consistently. Getting doubled constantly, literally running around all game averaging 30+ at 35 with barely any free throws. Put the rings aside, he is the cause for a lot of the nba’s popularity growth the last 8+ years.. the fact so many people hate him shows what kind of impact he’s had. Game has changed so much since he has come into the league and a lot of it is due to what he’s been able to do on the court year in and year out.

  15. alwayschillin

    And that’s what happens when you schedule a 3:30pm ET start


  16. As it turns out, big markets can help ratings, but what fans really want is compelling basketball over everything else.

  17. Powpowpowowowow

    The playoffs this year as a product have been amazing. Parity is good for the NBA and the play on the court is so much different from the regular season. Scoring averages are down by like what, 20 points? Teams play defense, the last 5 minutes are so much more important, it has just been very high level basketball.

  18. Narratives matter. You have a team completely rejuvenated from being one of the biggest jokes of the league going for a cinderella story against the defending dynasty NBA champions that have the greatest shooter of all time. David and Goliath. Enthralling for neutrals everywhere.

  19. iliveonramen

    This has been a great series, Im biased and the Heat vs Bucks is my fav, but I’ve tuned into every Sac vs GS game and Im east coast.

  20. mattbrianjess

    People love watching Steph. It’s been that way for a decade

  21. Kcidevolew

    The common denominator is not the Warriors. Hell yeah to all Kings fans everywhere they are showing out this season for good reason

  22. This series is not good for my heart as a warriors fan. Great games though.

  23. ASU_SexDevil

    NBA salivating at the thought of a Bron vs Curry, LA vs GS series
 shame it would only be a 2nd rd match up

  24. sickostrich244

    It’s the Steph Curry effect… he draws in millions of viewers because he’s that much fun to watch and one of the greatest of all time

  25. executivesphere

    What I love about this is that casual fans are seeing a genuinely excellent brand of basketball with these two teams. Both offenses are really fun to watch, defensive intensity is very high, and there are no flop fests or miserable iso ball.

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