The Golden State Warriors might have lost to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night, but both teams won in a big way ratings wise because they were in direct competition with the NCAA Tournament. As everyone knows, the tournament tends to dominate the ratings scene, but not on Saturday.
According to the released data, the Warriors at Spurs game on ABC averaged 5.2 million viewers, and it peaked at 7.1 million in the fourth quarter of the game as the two teams were battling down the stretch. By contrast, the top NCAA game of the night averaged 6.2 million viewers.
From the San Jose Mercury News, courtesy of the Bay Area News Group:
The showdown between the league’s best teams last weekend was the highest-rated NBA game in 14 years of those broadcast head-to-head against March Madness, according to Sports Media Watch. The game drew a 3.1 rating, the best viewership number opposite the NCAA Tournament since Lakers-Kings in 2002. Sports Media Watch reported that Warriors-Spurs averaged 5.2 million viewers on ABC and peaked at 7.1 million in the fourth quarter. The top NCAA game of the night, Kansas-Connecticut on CBS, averaged 6.2 million.
The sheer fact that Warriors-Spurs drew a 3.1 rating while in direct competition with the NCAA Tournament is quite amazing. It’s even more impressive when you take into account that, as the article states, it is the highest number since Lakers-Kings in 2002. It tells you just how unbelievable that number truly is.
It also makes you wonder just how ridiculous of a ratings number the two teams would do if they were to meet up in the Western Conference Finals. It might be plausible that the two sides, Warriors and Spurs, end up breaking the ratings record for a non-Finals series. After all, they’ve been breaking records all season.