• by Wayne Friedman , June 15, 2019

Nielsen TV ratings for this year’s NBA Finals on ABC between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors declined 19% versus the event a year ago.

The six-game series -- where the Raptors dethroned the Warriors, four games to two -- averaged 14.3 million viewers, down from the Warriors-Cleveland Cavaliers 2018 finals’ 17.6 million average.

One saving grace for this year’s event: the sixth game posted a strong 18.2-million-viewer average. A year ago, during the four-game sweep by the Warriors, Game Two earned 18.5 million.

Overall, this year’s event was the lowest-rated NBA Finals since 2007 -- the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers -- which averaged 9.3 million viewers (a four-game-to-zero sweep by the Spurs). In 2009, the Los Angeles Lakers-Orlando Magic averaged 14.4 million for a five-game series won by the Lakers.

Major advertisers for this year’s finals, according to iSpot.tv were Columbia Pictures’, with 42 airings of its spots ($8.9 million); YouTube TV, 21 airings ($8.2 million); Universal Pictures, 44 airings ($7.2 million); Apple iPhone, 17 airings ($6.3 million); and Nissan, 26 airings ($6.3 million).

Other big spenders included Toyota, with 27 airings ($6.2 million); State Farm, 31 airings ($6.0 million); McDonald’s, 41 airings ($5.6 million); 20th Century Fox, 19 airings ($4.7 million); and American Express, 32 airings ($4.6 million).

The six-game series pulled in a total of $204.4 million in national and regional TV advertising revenue.