Raptors' Game 7 Sets Second Round Viewership Record
An average of 2.65 million Canadians tuned in to the Toronto Raptors' Game 7 against Boston Celtics on Friday night, setting a new second round viewership record, according to the NBA.
The record had previously been held by Game 7 of last year's Eastern Conference semifinals when 2.24 million viewers turned in to watch Kawhi Leonard hit the game-winning buzzer-beater of Joel Emiid, Ben Simmons, and company.
Friday's Game 7 had the highest average of any 2020 NBA Playoff game in Canada and reached 6.043 million Canadians, the most of any playoff game this year.
South of the border, the game drew an average audience of 4.69 million viewers on TNT, the second largest audience of the NBA's return, behind only Game 2 of the Houston Rockets/Los Angeles Lakers game.
In Boston, averaged a 13.3 household rating, making it the highest-rated game in Boston since Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2018.
The Raptors' all-time high still remains Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals in which an average of 7.7 million viewers tuned in to see Toronto clinch the NBA championship over the Golden State Warriors.
Toronto's first round playoff viewership against the Brooklyn Nets saw its average audience increase by 24% compared to last year. Game 1 of the series had an average audience of 1.05 million viewers, making it the most-watched first round playoff game in Sportsnet history.
Additionally, viewership was up 41% in the first round for games involving two US teams compared to last year.
