Game 7 of Nuggets-Thunder on Sunday was most-watched Program for May 18 in all key demos.
The audience for the 2025 NBA Playoffs on ESPN platforms (ESPN and ABC) is up 12% from last year, according to Nielsen. Through the Conference Semifinals (22 games), ESPN is averaging 4,883,000 viewers, making it the second-most watched NBA Playoffs since 2011.
Game 7 of the Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder series on ABC averaged 6,340,000 viewers, and peaked with 7,632,000 viewers at 5:15 p.m. ET. It was the most-watched program for May 18 in all key demographics.
In addition, Friday’s Game 6 between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks on ESPN averaged 5,730,000 viewers, peaking with 6,603,000 viewers at 9 p.m. It was the most-watched program of the day across all of television for May 16 and up 14 percent from last year’s comparable Game 6 between the Knicks and Indiana Pacers.
