The New York Knicks’ first championship in 53 years provided ESPN the most-watched NBA Finals since 1998.
Saturday’s **** le-clinching Game 5 between the Knicks and San Antonio Spurs averaged 24.5 million viewers on ABC, good for the most-watched NBA game since Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors (31.0 million viewers). It was the most-watched Game 5 in an NBA Finals since Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls beating the Utah Jazz in 1998, and the full series was also the most-watched since 1998.
In total, the NBA Finals averaged 20.6 million viewers on ABC (a figure that includes one altcast on ESPN during Game 3), nearly double the figure that last year’s Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers earned despite going a full seven games (10.27 million viewers).
Viewership for Game 5 peaked at 33 million during the closing moments of the Knicks’ win.
Perhaps the most impressive part of this viewership story is the fact that a multi-decade record was set while the series only went five games. Traditionally, a series will have to go six or seven games before approaching record territory. After all, more casual fans are apt to tune in when a series stretches later and later. Bulls-Jazz in 1998, for instance, went six games. Previously, the two most-watched series since 1998 were in 2016 and 2017, which went seven and six games, respectively.
Saturday’s **** le-clinching Game 5 between the Knicks and San Antonio Spurs averaged 24.5 million viewers on ABC, good for the most-watched NBA game since Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors (31.0 million viewers). It was the most-watched Game 5 in an NBA Finals since Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls beating the Utah Jazz in 1998, and the full series was also the most-watched since 1998.
In total, the NBA Finals averaged 20.6 million viewers on ABC (a figure that includes one altcast on ESPN during Game 3), nearly double the figure that last year’s Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers earned despite going a full seven games (10.27 million viewers).
Viewership for Game 5 peaked at 33 million during the closing moments of the Knicks’ win.
Perhaps the most impressive part of this viewership story is the fact that a multi-decade record was set while the series only went five games. Traditionally, a series will have to go six or seven games before approaching record territory. After all, more casual fans are apt to tune in when a series stretches later and later. Bulls-Jazz in 1998, for instance, went six games. Previously, the two most-watched series since 1998 were in 2016 and 2017, which went seven and six games, respectively.
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