The final first-round NBA playoff game on TNT was the network’s most-watched in more than a decade. Sunday’s Game 7 matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets averaged 6.63 million viewers across TNT and truTV, marking the largest opening-round audience on cable since 2009, when the Chicago Bulls-Boston Celtics Game 7 averaged 6.99 million viewers. Golden State’s win also drew the third-largest audience of this year’s postseason, trailing only two games on ABC: Game 4 between the Lakers and Timberwolves, which attracted 7.35 million viewers, and Game 1 between the Magic and Celtics on Easter Sunday, which drew 6.69 million.
Overall, the first round of the NBA Playoffs averaged 3.27 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV — up 4% from last year. Excluding NBA TV, the average viewership rose to 3.7 million, a 6% increase. ESPN/ABC saw a 14% year-over-year gain, rising from 3.91 million to 4.46 million viewers, while TNT recorded a 3% bump, increasing from 3.22 million to 3.35 million.
Unlike cable broadcasts, ABC’s playoff games are fully exclusive, whereas first-round games on cable are often shared with regional sports networks. This Game 7 was the last first-round co-exist broadcast, as beginning next season, all playoff games will be exclusively televised on national networks.
For comparison, the last time the Warriors played in a first-round Game 7 — against the Sacramento Kings two years ago — the matchup averaged 9.84 million viewers in an exclusive Sunday afternoon window on ABC. That remains the most-watched first-round NBA playoff game since 1999.
Golden State’s only other first-round Game 7 — a 2014 late-night matchup against the Clippers — averaged just under 6 million viewers on TNT. That game aired close to 11 p.m. ET, and since out-of-home viewing wasn’t tracked at the time, its true audience may have been higher.
Other highlights for the NBA playoffs from the weekend include the Denver Nuggets’ blowout win over the Clippers in Saturday’s Game 7 averaged 4.21 million viewers across TNT and truTV. That figure marked a 15% decline from last year’s second-round Game 1 between the Timberwolves and Nuggets in the same Saturday night window, which drew 4.93 million viewers. Notably, last year’s game was exclusive to TNT, while this year’s was subject to co-exist coverage with local networks.
Also on Sunday, Pacers-Cavaliers Game 1 opened TNT’s doubleheader with 4.38 million viewers. Both TNT games outperformed ABC’s lone window from the same day last year — Game 7 between the Magic and Cavaliers, which averaged 4.32 million viewers. ABC did not air any NBA games this weekend, instead dedicating its Sunday schedule to Formula 1 coverage. The F1 race drew 2.17 million viewers.
Earlier in the week, TNT’s Thursday night Game 6 doubleheader averaged 4.02 million viewers for Knicks-Pistons and 3.93 million for Nuggets-Clippers. Those numbers represented a 51% increase and a 29% decline, respectively, compared to last year’s equivalent doubleheader — which featured Bucks-Pacers (2.66M) and Knicks-Sixers (5.09M).
On Friday, ESPN’s coverage of Game 6 between the Rockets and Warriors averaged 4.61 million viewers, an 18% increase over last year’s comparable matchup between the Clippers and Mavericks, which drew 3.90 million.
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