Knicks' coronation averages 24.5 million, capping most-watched NBA Finals since 1998
Sports Media Watch • • sports
Key Points:
- The New York Knicks ended a 53-year championship drought, with their Game 5 win over the San Antonio Spurs averaging 24.54 million viewers on ABC, making it the most-watched NBA game in a decade and the most-watched Game 5 since 1998.
- The full five-game Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals series averaged 20.6 million viewers, surpassing the 2017 Warriors-Cavaliers Finals to become the most-watched NBA Finals since 1998 and ranking as the ninth-most watched in the Nielsen people meter era.
- Nielsen's recent methodological changes, including integrating "Big Data" from smart TVs, affect historical viewership comparisons, but even accounting for this, the Knicks-Spurs Finals marked a significant rebound in NBA viewership after a slump since 2018.
- The Knicks-Spurs Finals outperformed other major North American sports championships in recent years, including the 2024 World Series, and saw a 100% increase in average viewership compared to last year's NBA Finals.
- Despite scheduling challenges, such as avoiding Sunday night games and including a Saturday night game (typically the least-watched), the Finals achieved record-high audience shares, with a 38.3 share—78% higher than last year and the highest ever recorded.
