NBA Finals drive ABC ratings rebound

Field Level Media|published: Tue 15th July, 19:28 2025

NBA: Finals-Indiana Pacers at Oklahoma City Thunder

Jun 22, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kenrich Williams (34) holds up the NBA Finals Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy after his team defeated the Indiana Pacers in game seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The NBA Finals going the full seven games provided a significant boost for ABC, which saw its sports viewership increased 17 percent in June compared to May, according Nielsen's monthly report "The Gauge."

After the first few games of the series between Indiana and Oklahoma City generated poor ratings, they improved significantly as the series grew more dramatic. That included an average of 16.35 million viewers for Game 7, making it the largest audience for an NBA Finals game in six years.

Overall, ratings for the series still lagged behind those of recent years while averaging 10.27 million viewers. That is compared to an average of 12.4 million viewers for Golden State's six-game series win over Boston in 2022, 11.64 million for Denver's five-game win over Miami in 2023 and 11.31 million for Boston's five-game title run past Dallas last year.

However, the 2025 NBA Finals on ABC represented the top seven telecasts of the month for broadcast. Along with the NBA Trophy Presentation, ABC took each of the top 12 telecasts in June.

Meanwhile, the conference finals on ESPN and TNT ranked as the top two cable telecasts of the month.

--Field Level Media