Every streaming service that has made a point to offer ESPN and ABC can pat themselves on the back as the numbers for the NHL and NBA finals have rolled in.
Viewership for 2022 NBA Finals on ABC Finishes Up 22 Percent From Last Year
Golden State Warriors Game 6 Clincher Averages Nearly 14 Million Viewers, Peaking with 16.9 Million Viewers
Highest Share in Five Years for NBA Finals with One in Five Television Viewers Watching NBA Finals on Game Nights
All Six NBA Finals Games on ABC are Most-Watched Programs on Television in June
Viewership for the 2022 NBA Finals on ABC was up 22 percent from last year, according to Nielsen. The six-game series averaged 12,402,000 viewers, making it the most-watched NBA Finals in three years.
The Golden State Warriors victory in Game 6 generated an average of nearly 14 million viewers (13,992,000), up 10 percent from last year’s Game 6. The ABC broadcast peaked with 16,862,000 viewers at 11:15 p.m. ET. Game 6 viewership was 75 percent higher than its closest competition on television.
The 2022 NBA Finals on ABC delivered the highest share for the event in five years (since 2017). At an average of a 20.0 share, one in five viewers watching television on game nights were tuned into the NBA Finals on ABC.
The NBA Finals on ABC brought in big numbers for Disney and ABC despite the verbal minority that says it will not watch the league because of the political opinions of some of its players and coaches.
Game 6 once again propelled ABC to win the night across all of television and in every key demographic, including M18-34, M18-49, M25-54, P18-34, P18-49 and P25-54. Furthermore, the six NBA Finals game broadcasts on ABC now rank as the six most-watched programs on television for June 2022.
ESPN’s NBA coverage continues with the 2022 NBA Draft on Thursday, June 23, at 7 p.m. ET from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The first round of the NBA Draft will air on ABC while both the first and second rounds will air on ESPN.
