As NBA And NHL Playoffs Reach Final Round, Disney And Warner Bros Discovery See Ratings And Ad Sales Surge In Respite From WGA Strike
03.06.2023 - 18:03
/ deadline.com
Given the anxious vibes in the entertainment business of late, the NBA and NHL playoffs have been a welcome throwback to happier times.
Strong live tune-in for Disney’s ABC and ESPN and Warner Bros Discovery’s TNT has kept advertisers happy and bolstered the companies’ assertions about sports at last month’s upfront events for media buyers. The momentum has come as the WGA strike has sidelined late-night shows and other linear mainstays and increasingly put a crimp in production.
Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final is Saturday night between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers. The NBA Finals tipped off last Thursday, with the Denver Nuggets beating the Miami Heat, and Game 2 is set for Sunday night on ABC.
Both media giants are hoping the championship series, which are best-of-seven, last six or seven games. While several series have been lopsided in both sports, the NBA playoffs have had two sweeps out of 14 series to this point, and the NHL has had only one out of 14.
In large part because of its dramatic swings and 7-game length, TNT’s broadcast of Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals averaged 11.9 million viewers — the third-biggest NBA rating in the network’s history. Entering the final round, the NBA playoffs had been averaging 4.71 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV, the best viewership since 2012. Game 1 overnight numbers indicated a 5% dip from 2022, but that audience is more than respectable given that Miami and Denver have much bigger media footprints than those of last year’s finalists, the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors.
Hockey has drawn similarly healthy playoff tune-in. Even after two less-than-scintillating conference finals, viewership is at a four-year
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