The first round of the NBA Playoffs is off to a strong start from a viewership perspective.
According to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, first-round NBA Playoffs viewership is up 4% year-over-year across ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV. When excluding NBA TV, that figure jumps to a 6% increase. Through the first round, games are averaging 3.27 million viewers across all networks and 3.7 million viewers without NBA TV.
In particular, ESPN and ABC are seeing strong returns. The Disney-owned networks are up 14% in the first round compared to last year, averaging 4.46 million viewers per contest. In its final year airing NBA games, TNT is up a modest 3% in first-round viewership, averaging 3.35 million viewers.
Sunday’s Game 7 between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets certainly provided a lift for the league. The game averaged 6.63 million viewers on TNT, the largest first-round audience on cable since 2009, per Lewis. The Warriors’ Game 7 win was also the third most-watched game so far this postseason, trailing only Game 4 of the Los Angeles Lakers-Minnesota Timberwolves series (7.35 million viewers) and Game 1 of the Orlando Magic-Boston Celtics series (6.69 million viewers). Both of those games aired in weekend windows on ABC, with Magic-Celtics having been played on Easter Sunday. It should be noted that the ABC games are exclusive to the network, while the first-round TNT games are simulcast on regional sports networks in the local markets.
Moving forward, the NBA has an interesting mix of small-market and large-market teams remaining in the playoffs. Which teams emerge from the conference semifinals may determine just how well the league does ratings-wise the rest of the way.
Without LeBron James and the Lakers, the NBA’s primary viewership draw will be Steph Curry and the Warriors in the West. In the East, whoever emerges from the Knicks-Celtics series will be the glamor team in the Eastern Conference Finals.
All told, things have shaken out adequately for the league. One of their two biggest stars remains in contention, and the rest of the bracket has a solid mix of legacy teams and smaller market clubs with rising stars.
As is typically the story, the secret sauce for the rest of the postseason will be how many series can extend to six or seven games. Ultimately, that will determine whether the NBA maintains its viewership bump this postseason.