The Miami Heat went out with a bang in the Eastern Conference Finals. ESPN has released viewership numbers for the Heat’s Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics, and it is nothing but good news.
Game 7 will go down as the most-watched conference finals game in four years. According to ESPN’s Ben Cafardo, the game averaged nearly 10 million viewers. It peaked around 11 pm with over 12 million people tuned in.
The NBA has enjoyed a rating surge all season. Each round of the playoffs is seeing its largest audience in years.
ESPN reports that the Eastern Conference Finals averaged nearly 7 million viewers in each of the seven games. That is a 40% audience increase over 2021.
It may not be fair to say that the NBA is “all the way back” from the pandemic, but fewer leagues saw their numbers take the kind of hit that it did. This has to be welcomed news.
The NBA Finals are set to tip-off on Thursday between the Celtics and the Golden State Warriors. Given the trajectory of viewership for these playoffs and the markets involved, it is fair to think that ABC and ESPN have very high expectations for the ratings.
