According to Front Office Sports, the NBA playoffs leveraged a holiday weekend to achieve significant viewership gains in the first round. Nielsen data shows an average of 3.7 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, and TNT, a 6% increase from last year’s 3.5 million.
The surge was partly fueled by an opening weekend coinciding with Easter, averaging 4.4 million viewers across eight games—up 17% from 2024 and marking the NBA’s most-watched opening weekend in 25 years.
ESPN platforms (ABC and ESPN) averaged 4.46 million viewers over 12 games, a 14% rise from the prior year. ABC drove this growth with 5.56 million viewers across six games, up 14%, while ESPN’s six games saw a 10% increase. These gains align with the regular season, where ABC’s viewership rose 10%, despite a 2% overall decline in national TV viewership due to weaker cable performance.
TNT reported a 3% uptick, averaging 3.3 million viewers across 25 first-round games. A standout was Game 7 between the Warriors and Rockets, which drew 6.6 million viewers—the most-watched first-round Game 7 on cable since 2009 (Bulls vs. Celtics).
The top three most-watched first-round games included ABC’s Game 4 of Lakers vs. Timberwolves (7.4 million), Game 1 of Magic vs. Celtics (6.7 million), and the Warriors-Rockets Game 7 on TNT. (Credit: Front Office Sports)
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