The Heat and the Nuggets are not the “sexiest” franchises to attract customers, and yet American viewers are waiting for the Finals! After Game 1 which had attracted 11.5 million viewers on average on ABC and ESPN2, 400,000 viewers less than Game 1 last season, Miami’s victory in Denver was followed by an average of 11.9 million Americans. . It’s exactly the same audience as last season for the final between the Warriors and the Celtics, two teams much better known to the general public.
Another important data, the peak audience. It was 12.7 million viewers in the first round, and it reached 15.3 million on this second round. The scenario of the meeting is undoubtedly not foreign to this very good audience, measured between 10 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. on the time zone of the east coast.
The NBA, audience leader in the United States
Is it a very good audience? If we look at the figures for 30 years, and if we exclude the two finals played during the Covid period, we have to go back to 2007 to find traces of such a “low” audience for a Game 2. At the time , Game 2 between the Spurs and the Cavaliers was watched by only 8.5 million viewers.
For the NBA, and the broadcaster ABC, the most important thing is that the NBA Finals is the leader in viewership in the United States, and it is. In Denver, for example, Game 2 has a market share of 22%, and that’s a record for an NBA game. In Miami, the market share is 15%, and it is the best audience for an NBA game since 2014.
