Amid speculation that the 2019 NBA Finals will suffer drastically in viewership, Game 1 of the Toronto Raptors against the Golden State Warriors registered record numbers for the channel SportsNet with 3.3 million viewers, easily making it the most-watched NBA game in Canada history.
Another @Raptors win, another broadcast record!
Last night's Game 1 of the #NBAFinals on @Sportsnet reached 7.4M Canadians and captured an average audience of 3.3M viewers, making it the most-watched #NBA game ever in Canada 🏀🇨🇦#WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/8PMIZZvJWA
— Sportsnet PR (@SportsnetPR) May 31, 2019
Being the only Canadian NBA team remaining (after the Vancouver Grizzlies folded early and packed their bags to Memphis), and the first time the Raptors have ever been this far in the postseason, it's no surprise that nearly the entire country was tuned in. It doesn't help that the despite holding home court they are considered underdogs against the two-time defending champions and perennial Finals staple the last several years.
The ratings in the U.S. (particularly ABC) however, is expected to suffer for a variety of reasons and this is where the forecasts of dwindling viewership likely apply. Americans typically tune in to watch big names on opposing sides which makes for a fair and entertaining matchup, and with Kawhi Leonard not being a household name (or even his supporting cast led by Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry), there's only so much a Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant (who is not expected to play in a while) can do in terms of racking up metrics.
The Raptors should expect more of the same for Game 2 and the succeeding games in the Canadian side, although what ultimately matters is the W and the chip.
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