By Canadian Press

NBA Finals set another Canadian ratings record, numbers remain lukewarm in US

Jun 3, 2019 | 4:09 PM

TORONTO — The NBA Finals between the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors continue to draw big television numbers in Canada, while ratings remain lukewarm south of the border.

TSN announced Monday that Game 2 of the final series, a 109-104 win by the visiting Warriors to tie the series at a game apiece, had an average audience of 4.3 million viewers on TSN, CTV2, and RDS, making it the most-watched NBA game on record in Canada.

The Raptors’ Canadian television audience has been steadily climbing throughout the playoffs.

Sportsnet says Toronto’s 118-109 win over the Golden State in Thursday’s Finals opener drew a then-record average audience of 3.3 million viewers. That figure topped the 3.1 million set in the deciding game of the Eastern Conference final as the Raptors finished off the Milwaukee Bucks.

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The numbers don’t include Canadians watching the game on an American feed.

In the U.S., the Warriors’ win on Sunday night drew a 10.2 overnight rating, up a bit from the 10.1 rating for Game 1.

Ratings south of the border will likely remain down from last year’s numbers throughout the series, because Canadian viewership does not factor into the U.S. ratings formula and because these are the first finals since 2010 without LeBron James on the floor.

The 10.2 overnight is roughly even with the same overnight from Game 2 of the finals in 2008, 2013 and 2014.

Game 3 is Wednesday night in Oakland, California.

— With files from The Associated Press.

The Canadian Press