Professional basketball’s postseason tournament is celebrating a dramatic surge in television viewership through the first two rounds of competition.
League officials announced Tuesday that games have drawn an average of 4.5 million viewers per contest, with broadcasts distributed among ABC, ESPN, and newer media partners NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime Video.
The league reports this represents the strongest viewership numbers in 29 years, dating back to 1997.
Amazon Prime Video separately revealed that the decisive seventh game of the Eastern Conference semifinals, where the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the top-ranked Detroit Pistons, attracted 6.53 million viewers. This figure exceeded the previous year’s equivalent second-round finale between Oklahoma City and Denver by 3 percent.
The playoff action continues with the Cavaliers traveling to face the New York Knicks Tuesday evening for the opening game of the Eastern Conference championship series. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the reigning champion Thunder in a double-overtime thriller Monday night in the first game of the Western Conference finals.
