NBA Finals 2023: Oklahoma City Thunders Game 7 Win Draws Record-Breaking 16 Million Viewers, Most-Watched Finals Game in 6 Years

This year's NBA Finals, which saw the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers in a thrilling Game 7, drew an impressive average of 16.35 million viewers on ABC, according to fast national figures from Nielsen. The Hollywood Reporter reported that the viewership peaked at 19.28 million from 9:45-10 p.m. ET, in the closing moments of the Thunder's win. Despite featuring two small-market teams in Oklahoma City and Indiana, this year's NBA Finals lagged behind previous years in the ratings, with a seven-game average of 10.27 million viewers. However, this number only tops 2003 (Spurs-Nets) and 2007 (Spurs-Cavaliers) in the last 20-plus years. The COVID years of 2020 and 2021, which aired outside the traditional June window and pulled lower numbers than this year, are not included in this comparison. However, there is good news for ABC and ESPN, who just signed a new media rights deal with the NBA last year. This year's NBA playoff games on the two networks were up 10 percent in the ratings versus last year, with an average of 6.12 million viewers. Overall, while the ratings for this year's NBA Finals may not have reached the heights of previous years, the success of the playoff games on ABC and ESPN is a positive sign for the future of the NBA's media rights deal. The high viewership numbers during the playoffs suggest that fans are still passionate about the NBA and are willing to tune in to watch their favorite teams compete for a championship.