NBA first-round viewership makes expected jump as broadcast exposure pays dividends
Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images The NBA is coming out of the gates strong with healthy first-round viewership, as the league’s new broadcast network exposure continues to pay dividends in terms of audience growth. Overall, the first round of the NBA playoffs averaged 4. 0 million viewers across NBC, ABC, ESPN, and Prime Video, a 22% increase from last year’s games on ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV (3.
27 million viewers), according to data compiled by Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch . This year’s viewership does not include the four games which aired exclusively on Peacock, which is not measured by Nielsen. Officially, it is the most-watched first round since 1993.
The biggest driver of growth was undoubtedly the increase in broadcast exposure brought by the NBA’s new partnership with NBC. All told, NBC aired 15 first-round games on its broadcast network, while ABC chipped in another five games itself, making for the most first-round games to ever air on broadcast television. NBC’s 15-game slate averaged 5.
5 million viewers (inclusive of streaming measurements from Adobe Analytics, which added 1. 0 million to the count), which was good for a 61% increase versus comparable windows last season. Leading the charge for NBC was Saturday’s Game 7 between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics, which averaged 10.
99 million viewers with help from a Kentucky Derby lead-in . It was the largest first-round playoff audience since 1999, when 11. 2 million viewers tuned in for a series-deciding Game 5 between the Jazz and Kings on NBC.