> Sundayās 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 ā since NBCās 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 yearās equivalent windows, each of which featured Warriors-Nuggets.
xegget
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 whatā¦ the 1990s with MJ probably?
ForoaKlanD
Curry is the biggest draw and it isn’t close
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.
Good_NewsEveryone
And it delivered. That was a banger
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)
Outland3r_
What’s even crazier is the folks who watched it on illegal streams aren’t even factored into the equation
ClydeGriffiths17
One of the best 1st round series I can remember, and it sucks Fox is injured now.
untouchable765
Wardell Stephen Curry II
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.
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.
ALONSOBIDEN2024
go woke go broke
dzhoneeh
Youāre welcome
Winner1717
What the kings finally making the playoffs does
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
Silken_Splendor
Obviously biased but this series has been incredible, makes it hard watching some of the other ones.
BradWonder
Who said tv was dead?
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.
alwayschillin
And thatās what happens when you schedule a 3:30pm ET startā¦
jimbobills
If Clay Travis is sad I am happy
ddottay
As it turns out, big markets can help ratings, but what fans really want is compelling basketball over everything else.
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.
Shuk
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.
iliveonramen
This has been a great series, Im biased and the Heat vs Bucks is my fav, but Iāve tuned into every Sac vs GS game and Im east coast.
mattbrianjess
People love watching Steph. Itās been that way for a decade
Kcidevolew
The common denominator is not the Warriors. Hell yeah to all Kings fans everywhere they are showing out this season for good reason
runningraider13
Thatās about the same average viewers as the 2020 finals, wow.
This series is not good for my heart as a warriors fan. Great games though.
ASU_SexDevil
NBA salivating at the thought of a Bron vs Curry, LA vs GS seriesā¦ shame it would only be a 2nd rd match up
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
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.
31 Comments
> Sundayās 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 ā since NBCās 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 yearās equivalent windows, each of which featured Warriors-Nuggets.
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 whatā¦ the 1990s with MJ probably?
Curry is the biggest draw and it isn’t close
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.
And it delivered. That was a banger
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)
What’s even crazier is the folks who watched it on illegal streams aren’t even factored into the equation
One of the best 1st round series I can remember, and it sucks Fox is injured now.
Wardell Stephen Curry II
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.
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.
go woke go broke
Youāre welcome
What the kings finally making the playoffs does
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
Obviously biased but this series has been incredible, makes it hard watching some of the other ones.
Who said tv was dead?
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.
And thatās what happens when you schedule a 3:30pm ET startā¦
If Clay Travis is sad I am happy
As it turns out, big markets can help ratings, but what fans really want is compelling basketball over everything else.
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.
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.
This has been a great series, Im biased and the Heat vs Bucks is my fav, but Iāve tuned into every Sac vs GS game and Im east coast.
People love watching Steph. Itās been that way for a decade
The common denominator is not the Warriors. Hell yeah to all Kings fans everywhere they are showing out this season for good reason
Thatās about the same average viewers as the 2020 finals, wow.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Finals_television_ratings#:~:text=At%20the%20same%20time%2C%20the,drawing%20only%205.9%20million%20viewers.
This series is not good for my heart as a warriors fan. Great games though.
NBA salivating at the thought of a Bron vs Curry, LA vs GS seriesā¦ shame it would only be a 2nd rd match up
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
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.