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NBA Finals Shatter Records: Most Watched in 28 Years!
17 Jun
Summary
- NBA Finals viewership reached highest point in 28 years.
- Game 5 alone drew 24.5 million viewers, peaking at 33 million.
- Social media engagement and merchandise sales hit all-time highs.
The NBA Finals this year set a new benchmark for viewership, attracting the largest audience in 28 years, since the era of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. Averaging 20.6 million viewers across ABC and ESPN, the series between Jalen Brunson's Knicks and Victor Wembanyama's Spurs proved to be ratings gold.
Game 5, which saw the Knicks clinch the championship, was particularly monumental, drawing 24.5 million viewers and peaking at 33 million viewers. This made it the most-watched NBA Finals Game 5 since 1998 and the most-watched NBA game overall since the 2016 Finals Game 7. The Finals also achieved a record share of 38.3.
The postseason as a whole experienced its highest viewership in 28 years across multiple platforms. Social media buzzed with an unprecedented 15 billion views, nearly tripling the previous record. Furthermore, the New York Knicks' merchandise sales shattered all previous Fanatics records for any championship team.
