Ratings for the last game of the NBA Finals dipped by nearly 70%, compared to last year.
At its peak, 6.028 million viewers tuned in to watch Game 6 of the finals on Sunday evening, which is a 66% dip compared to 2019, when Game 6 saw 18.34 million viewers.
The ratings for the NBA have been in a free-fall in recent weeks. Game 5, for example, garnered 5.7 million total viewers on ABC. In 2019, Game 5 saw 18.22 million viewers.
Additionally, 7.41 million people watched Game 1, an average of 4.5 million viewers tuned in for Game 2, an average of 4.395 million viewers tuned in for Game 3, and an average of 5.3 million total viewers watched Game 4.
The ratings slump came as the league pushed a social justice campaign with pro-Black Lives Matter messaging.
“A ship doesn’t sink for one reason, but undoubtedly, politics sit atop the historical tank,” read an article from OutKick when detailing the statistics from Game 2. “After nearly two decades of reinventing the NBA discussion, LeBron is now a detriment to the league’s brand.”
Last week, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league will revisit the social justice messaging seen by players and teams this season.
“I would say, in terms of the messages you see on the court and our jerseys, this was an extraordinary moment in time when we began these discussions with the players and what we all lived through this summer,” Silver said in an interview. “My sense is there’ll be somewhat a return to normalcy, that those messages will largely be left to be delivered off the floor.”
“And I understand those people who are saying, ‘I’m on your side, but I want to watch a basketball game,’” he continued.
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has been one of the most vocal athletes in denouncing perceived systemic racism and pushing a social justice campaign.
In August, he was spotted wearing a hat that read, “Make America Great Again Arrest The Cops Who Killed Breonna Taylor,” referring to the 26-year-old black woman who was shot and killed earlier this year in Louisville, Kentucky, by the police.
He also said this summer that black people in America are “terrified” of being killed and that considerable changes need to be made to end racism.
“I know people get tired of hearing me say it. But we are scared as black people in America. Black men, black women, black kids, we are terrified,” he said at the time.
The Lakers won the NBA title on Sunday evening, defeating the Miami Heat, 106-93.
