06/05/26 04:22:00
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06/05 16:20 CDT Star power: Viewership for Game 1 of NBA Finals up 90% over
last year's series opener
Star power: Viewership for Game 1 of NBA Finals up 90% over last year's series
opener
SAN ANTONIO (AP) --- The star power of Victor Wembanyama and Jalen Brunson
helped this year's NBA Finals get off to a huge start in terms of viewership,
the likes of which hadn't been seen since the last finals matchup between
LeBron James and Stephen Curry eight years ago.
Game 1 of the finals matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks
averaged nearly 17 million viewers on Wednesday night, up 90% when compared to
last season's finals Game 1. It was the most-watched Game 1 since 2018, the
most recent time James --- then of Cleveland --- and Golden State's Curry faced
off in the title round.
Wednesday's game had a peak audience of 19.63 million viewers around 11 p.m.
EDT, which would have been in the fourth quarter of New York's 105-95 victory.
It was the most-watched finals Game 1 ever on ABC and the most-watched finals
contest since Game 6 of the 2019 title series between Toronto and Golden State.
The viewership numbers for Game 1 on Wednesday were higher than the opening
game of 15 of the past 16 World Series, including the 2024 series opener
between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers --- a matchup pitting the
country's top two media markets. That game averaged 15.2 million viewers.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
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