Game 1 NBA Finals TV Rating Lowest in Years

Thursday night produced one heck of a basketball game, with Toronto shocking many with a 118-109 victory over the defending champions. It may surprise some, however, that the TV rating it delivered wasn’t exactly eye-popping. In fact, according to Sports Media Watch, the Game 1 rating (10.1) was the lowest for an NBA Finals game since 2013 (Heat-Spurs Game 3, 10.0) and the lowest Game 1 rating since 2009 (Lakers-Magic Game 1, 8.9).

Those numbers are a bit skewed, though, because Canadien markets aren’t included in Nielsen Ratings and one of the NBA Finals participants is from Canada. So, while the ratings that get reported in the U.S media are lower than usual, you can be sure that people in Toronto and other basketball-loving Canadiens watched Game 1 intently. And, of course, they’ll continue to watch intently as the Raptors hope to finalize one of the biggest upsets in NBA history.

With a 1-0 lead for Toronto, the NBA Finals will continue on Sunday night at 8:00 P.M ET in Toronto. ABC will air the game nationally and ESPN will also have a few alternate broadcasts going, according to Awful Announcing.