NBC Touts 10.3 Million for Thunder-Spurs Game 4 as Critics Challenge Ratings Method
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 28
NBC Touts 10.3 Million for Thunder-Spurs Game 4 as Critics Challenge Ratings Method
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 28
10.3 million viewers watched Thunder-Spurs Game 4 across NBC and Peacock, and NBC said the series is averaging 9.4 million through three games — its best Western Conference finals showing since 1999.
Those comparisons are disputed because this is the first conference finals on NBC in 23 years, giving the series a broadcast-TV reach advantage over cable-era TNT and ESPN matchups.
Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel system, introduced in September, is also estimated by industry sources to lift live-sports audiences by about 10%, while Peacock figures are not independently verifiable.
The NBA’s broader claim of a 20% first-round viewership jump is further muddied by the end of regional first-round telecasts, which pushed local Knicks and Lakers viewers onto national broadcasts.
The debate comes even as the conference finals have been largely uncompetitive, though the Knicks’ first Finals trip since 1999 and Victor Wembanyama’s rise still give the league a stronger TV backdrop.
Are record NBA ratings masking a decline in the competitiveness of playoff games?
Is Victor Wembanyama's talent or are new media metrics the real driver of the NBA's viewership boom?