NBA Cup Championship viewership up in first year on Prime Video

In its first year on Prime Video, the NBA Cup Championship saw a slight viewership increase over 2024, though that increase falls within the range that could be explained by Nielsen’s new Big Data standard.

Tuesday’s final between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks from Las Vegas averaged 3.07 million viewers on Prime, up 3% from Bucks–Thunder last year on ABC. However, it was no match for the inaugural edition between the Pacers and Lakers, also on ABC, which averaged 4.58 million viewers.

The audience for the championship was the youngest in its short history, with viewers posting a median age of 45.4. For comparison, the median age of the Opening Night doubleheader on NBC, which averaged more viewers, was 53.9.

One might have expected more significant increases in viewership this year. Last year’s championship featured two small-market teams in the Bucks and Thunder, while viewership this year has generally been boosted by Nielsen’s new Big Data standard. However, last year had the benefit of the broader reach of broadcast television. This marked the first year the championship aired on Prime Video, and similar firsts for Thursday Night Football and NASCAR generally saw year-over-year decreases compared with similar events on broadcast television.

All told, the NBA Cup knockout rounds averaged 1.54 million viewers on Prime Video, down 6% from last year, when knockout-round games were split between TNT, ESPN, and ABC. Most of the decline can be attributed to the quarterfinals, which coexisted with local broadcasts and were down 20% from last year. The semifinals, however, were up 14%.

One benefit of the game moving to streaming is that, despite the overall viewership decrease, NBA Cup knockout-round viewership was up among younger demographics. Viewership among adults 18–34 saw the largest increase, up 23%, while viewership among adults 25–54 rose 15%. In addition, the global reach of Prime Video resulted in the Cup being watched on more than 103 million unique devices worldwide.

Overall, NBA games on Prime Video in the United States this season are averaging 1.31 million viewers. A comparison to games last year was not immediately available.