A highly-anticipated Western Conference Finals seems poised to turbocharge an NBA playoff audience already up double-digits through the first two rounds.
Monday’s Spurs-Thunder NBA WCF Game 1 averaged a combined 9.16 million viewers on NBC across Nielsen (6.91M) and a streaming audience measured by Adobe Analytics (2.25M), officially marking the largest audience on record for a Game 1 of the West Finals. The previous high was 9.15 million for the previous Western Conference Finals opener on NBC, Lakers-Kings exactly 24 years earlier in 2002.
Regardless of conference, the combined audience is the largest for a conference final opener since Heat-Bulls on TNT in 2011 (11.11M) and the second-highest since Pacers-Bulls on NBC in 1998 (11.88M).
Note that Nielsen did not begin including out-of-home viewing in its estimates until 2020, only began doing so in 100 percent of markets a year ago, and is months into a new methodology that combines its traditional panel with “Big Data” from smart TVs and set-top boxes. Those changes will generally skew historical comparisons, particularly to years prior to 2020. (It is a lock that Lakers-Kings in 2002 would rank higher all things being equal.)
Overall, Game 1 officially delivered the eighth-largest audience for a conference final opener in the Nielsen people-meter era — trailing only seven games involving the Chicago Bulls (six involving the Michael Jordan-era squad and one in which the Derrick Rose version faced LeBron James’ Miami Heat).
Most-watched NBA conference final openers
The Spurs’ double-overtime win, which peaked with 12.0 million in the 11:30 PM ET quarter-hour, increased 71% from a Nielsen-only 5.36 million for Timberwolves-Thunder Game 1 on ESPN. (NBC’s position is that because Nielsen does not track its streaming viewership, its combined Nielsen + Adobe audience figures are comparable to the Nielsen-only figures of other networks.)
Game 1 delivered the second-largest audience of the playoffs — trailing only Sixers-Celtics Game 7 on NBC following the Kentucky Derby (10.99M) — with NBC owning each of the top five.
The top non-NBC game took place the previous night, when Amazon Prime Video averaged a 3.0 rating and 6.53 million for Cavaliers-Pistons Game 7 in the second round — the largest NBA audience yet for the streamer. Viewership increased 3% from last year’s lone second round Game 7, Nuggets-Thunder on ABC (6.34M), well within the margin that would be explained by Nielsen methodological changes.
As is typical for sports on streaming services, the Cavaliers’ blowout win delivered larger increases in the key young adult demographics, rising 11% in adults 18-34 and 27% in 18-49 and 25-54. Through the second round, it was the most-watched game of the postseason among viewers under 55 — though it should be noted that NBC’s presumably young-skewing streaming viewership is not measured by Nielsen.
It should be noted that Game 7 was not the highest rated or most-watched of the Cavaliers-Pistons series. Game 4 averaged 7.01 million on NBC six nights earlier across Nielsen (3.1 rating, 5.70M viewers) and Adobe Analytics. It also trailed the previous week’s Sunday night game on NBC, Spurs-Timberwolves at a combined 7.90 million (3.2, 6.60M per Nielsen, plus Adobe Analytics).
Game 7 capped an early round NBA playoff slate that averaged 4.5 million viewers across NBCUniversal, ESPN/ABC and Prime Video (including Adobe Analytics for NBC games), up 16% from last year on ESPN/ABC, TNT and NBA TV (3.85M) and officially the highest average at this point of the postseason since 1997.
NBCUniversal has been the most-watched of the NBA’s three broadcast partners, averaging 5.8 million (Nielsen + Adobe Analytics) for 21 games on the NBC broadcast network. (NBC-produced games that aired on Peacock and NBCSN were not Nielsen rated.) That compares to Nielsen-only averages of 4.2 million for ESPN/ABC and 3.4 million for Prime Video.
A combined 28 early round playoff games aired on broadcast television between NBC (21) and ABC (7), nearly tripling the same point last year (10 on ABC) and the most ever for the first two rounds of the playoffs. NBC in its previous season carrying NBA games 24 years ago aired 22 games during the first two rounds.
Under the new NBA media rights deal, all playoff games are exclusive to national television. Prior to this year, first round games on cable either co-existed with local RSN coverage (ESPN and TNT) or were fully blacked out in the home markets (NBA TV).
NBA playoff games have accounted for 17 of the 20 most-watched sportscasts since the start of May, and 23 telecasts in the opening rounds averaged at least five million viewers — the most through the second round since 2011 (25). (Note the standard caveats regarding Nielsen methodological changes.)
Among those was Spurs-Timberwolves Game 6 on Prime Video Friday night, which drew a 2.5 and 5.22 million. Cavaliers-Pistons Game 6 led-in with a 1.9 and 4.13 million. Neither game could match last year’s equivalent Friday night window on ESPN, the Knicks clinching their first conference final appearance since 1999 with a rout of the Celtics (5.73M).
