Ratings Roundup: NBA Finals Are Second-Most Watched Ever on ABC Through Two Games

The 2016 NBA Finals is the second-most watched ever on ABC through two games, according to Fast Nationals from Nielsen. The series is averaging 18,270,000 viewers (p2+). Sunday night’s NBA Finals Game 2 – the Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers by 33 points (110-77), the largest margin of victory ever for an NBA Finals Game 2 – averaged 17,361,000 viewers, making it the second-most watched Game 2 ever on ABC. It peaked with 19,367,000 viewers from 10-10:30 p.m. ET.

Based on Fast Nationals from Nielsen, the NBA Finals on ABC won the night across all of television for the 50^thconsecutive time…

…Three nights prior, a record 19,197,000 viewers watched the Golden State Warriors’ victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the largest Game 1 audience ever on ABC for the NBA Finals. The ABC viewership eclipsed the previous high of 17,768,000 by eight percent, a mark set last year between these same two teams. Additionally, the viewership number was the biggest audience for a Game 1 on any network since 1998. The game peaked from 10:45-11 p.m. ET with 22,610,000 viewers and a 12.9 rating. The corresponding 11.1 U.S. household rating also set an ABC Game 1 record, surpassing last year’s previous high of 10.6. Furthermore, the 19,197,000 viewers and 11.1 rating marked a 31 and 25 percent increase, respectively compared to the 2014 Game 1 numbers of 14,697,000 and 8.9 (Miami-San Antonio).

In addition to the television audience on ABC, Game 1 was the most-watched NBA game ever on WatchESPN. It delivered an average minute audience of 347,000, more than double (up 111 percent) from last year’s Game 1. Additionally, WatchESPN had one million unique viewers (up 48 percent) and 55.9 million minutes streamed (up 92 percent). The previous record for most-watched NBA game was Game 6 of the 2015 NBA Finals.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals on ESPN Deportes averaged a 0.6 Hispanic Household Rating with 124,000 total Hispanic viewers, making it the most-watched and highest-rated Game 1 ever on the network…

…NBA TV reports that it saw its total day and prime viewership last week grow 22% and 11%, respectively, over the same period for the NBA Playoffs last year…