Another NBA Finals are in the books as the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks, in five games. For the Celtics, an original NBA franchise, it was their 18th championship, breaking a tie with rival Los Angeles Lakers for the most titles in league history. Boston became the sixth different franchise to win the NBA championship in the past six seasons. Jaylen Brown of the Celtics was named MVP of the Finals.
Despite the history making performance, many viewers tuned out. The average audience for the five-game series was 11.31 million, a year-over-year decline of -3% from the 2023 NBA Finals (Denver over Miami) which was also a five-game series. The fifth and deciding Game 5 averaged 12.22 million viewers, a -7% decline compared to last year’s fifth game which had averaged 13.08 million viewers.
Although both Dallas and Boston are among the ten largest TV markets, the series was marred by lopsided victories that limited viewer interest. Ratings success are dependent on two factors; having more viewers and having the viewers watch for an extended period of time. With a number of blowouts viewers, apparently, tuned out.