The first game of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night averaged 6.43 million viewers across the traditional broadcast on ESPN and alternate presentation on ESPN2, according to Nielsen Media Research. This marks the most-watched NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 on any network since 2018 when the Celtics faced LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The traditional broadcast on ESPN featuring the lead announcing team of Mike Breen, Doris Burke, JJ Redick and Lisa Salters averaged 6.28 million viewers, while NBA Unplugged with Kevin Hart averaged 151,000 viewers on ESPN2. Guests included in the alternate presentation, which is a collaboration between ESPN, Hartbeat and Omaha Productions, included Joel McHale, DeMarcus Cousins, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Lou Williams.
The Game 1 broadcast was the most-watched program of the day on all of television and also finished first in key adult and male demographics. The broadcast was up 8% from the comparable game between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics last year on TNT, which averaged 5.95 million according to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch. Moreover, the contest is up 6% from the 6.07 million average audience for the Game 1 matchup between the Pacers and Celtics in the 2022 season on ESPN.
The 6.43 million viewership average is the third-largest audience within the NBA Playoffs, both being surpassed by Game 7 broadcasts on Sunday. ESPN broadcast the New York Knicks matchup against the Indiana Pacers that averaged 6.45 million viewers, while TNT presented the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets game that averaged 8.41 million viewers.
With young, dynamic stars including Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner, the Pacers have been a draw on national television this year. The team played in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament Final against the Los Angeles Lakers and averaged 4.58 million viewers on ABC and ESPN2, the second-most watched game of the regular season.
For the first two rounds of the NBA Playoffs, games averaged 4.03 million viewers on ESPN, ABC, TNT and truTV, a metric that is down 12% from last year. The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC) has reportedly reached a framework for a new deal with the NBA that is in the process of being formalized, along with NBCUniversal and Amazon. Warner Bros. Discovery, the incumbent holding the “B” package and broadcasting NBA games within its associated divisions since the 1984-85 season, reportedly has the ability to match rights; however, there is ambiguity surrounding what would constitute meeting such criteria.
The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery, along with the FOX Corporation, are preparing to launch a joint streaming venture in the fall, Venu Sports, pending regulatory approval. Moreover, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery will introduce a bundle for Disney+, Hulu and Max over the summer and recently reached a deal to allow TNT Sports to sublicense select College Football Playoff games from ESPN.
