The Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors Western Conference Semifinals matchup has been a gold mine for the NBA.
Game 1, a 117-112 Lakers win, averaged 7.357 million viewers on TNT. That was cable’s most-watched conference semifinal Game 1 ever, and (at the time) TNT’s most-watched conference semifinal game since 2012.
Game 2, a 127-100 Warriors win, averaged 7.351 million viewers on ESPN. That was Disney’s most-watched conference semifinal Game 2 ever.
Game 3, a 127-97 Lakers win, averaged 8.373 million viewers on ABC. That was the most-watched conference semifinal Game 3 since 1999, and the most-watched conference semifinal game since 2011.
Game 4, a 104-101 Lakers win, averaged 7.522 million viewers on TNT. It surpassed Game 1 as TNT’s most-watched conference semifinal game since 2012, and is the NBA’s most-watched game on cable since 2019.
Through four games, the series is averaging 7.651 million viewers.
The strong start to this series comes on the heels of a first round that averaged 3.4 million viewers, the NBA’s most-watched first round in nine years. That round was led by the wild seven game Warriors-Kings series, which concluded with an audience of 9.8 million viewers for Game 7. That was the largest audience for a first round game since 1999.
Game 5 will take place at 10 PM ET on TNT Wednesday night. A potential Game 6 is scheduled for Friday night on ESPN, with a possible mouth-watering Game 7 Sunday on ABC.
About Joe Lucia
I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.