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ABC has aced the first test of its finals week.
The network saw big audiences for the opening games of both the NHL Stanley Cup Finals on Tuesday and the NBA Finals on Wednesday. Both telecasts were the best this decade for the first game of either series.
Starting with the larger audience: Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs averaged 16.93 million viewers, the best for the series opener since 2018. Wednesday’s game grew by 90 percent from the last year’s game 1 (8.91 million). The Knicks’ 105-95 win in San Antonio drew the fifth largest audience for the NBA Finals opener in the 24 years ABC has had rights to the series, behind the four straight matchups between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers from 2015-18.
Having a team from the country’s largest media market in the Knicks certainly helped ABC. The Spurs, led by rising superstar Victor Wembanyama, have also been a big draw during the postseason: Their Western Conference finals clincher against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder drew 15.9 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.
