NBA first-round ratings drop 27 percent, 40 percent since 2017-18

While the end of the first round added a boost in viewership for the NBA playoffs, overall ratings were down from recent seasons, as relayed by sports-media reporter Bobby Burack of OutKick.

Overall, ratings for the now-concluded first round were down 27 percent from last season, per Nielsen. The league's ratings has also dropped 40 percent from two years ago, Burack wrote.

The first round of the playoffs were an extension of the declining ratings prior to the NBA hiatus in March.

According to a report from Sports Business Daily in February, national television viewership for regular-season games nosedived 12 percent compared to 2018-19. Again, those were the league's pre-hiatus numbers.

Poster Comment:

Good. Can't afford those salaries much longer.