Thursday Final Nationals: Cavaliers-Warriors Game 1 on ABC Draws Most-Viewed NBA Finals Start in 18 Years

For the 49th consecutive time, “The NBA Finals” propelled ABC to win the night across all of television (broadcast and cable) and across all key demos.

An average of 19.197 million viewers watched the Golden State Warriors’ 104-89 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the largest Game 1 audience ever on ABC for the NBA Finals, according to Nielsen. This eclipsed the previous ABC high of 17.768 million by eight percent, a mark set last year between these same two teams. Additionally, the viewership number was the biggest audience for an NBA Game 1 on any network since 1998 (26.7 million for Chicago Bulls-Utah Jazz on NBC) and the top championship series Game 1 of any sport since October 2009 (19.5 million viewers/11.9 household rating for Philadelphia Phillies-New York Yankees in the 2009 World Series on Fox). The game peaked from 10:45-11 p.m. ET with 22.61 million viewers and a 12.9 rating.

The corresponding 11.1 U.S. household rating also set an ABC Game 1 record, surpassing last year’s previous high of 10.6. Furthermore, the 19.197 million viewers and 11.1 rating marked a 31 and 25 percent increase, respectively compared to the 2014 Game 1 numbers of 14.697 million and 8.9 (Miami-San Antonio).

Most-Watched NBA Game Ever on WatchESPN
In addition to the television audience on ABC, Thursday night’s Game 1 was the most-watched NBA game ever on WatchESPN. It delivered an average minute audience of 347,000, more than double (up 111 percent) from last year’s Game 1. Additionally, WatchESPN had one million unique viewers (up 48 percent) and 55.9 million minutes streamed (up 92 percent). The previous record for most-watched NBA game was Game 6 of the 2015 NBA Finals.

NBA Finals Game 1 Record on ESPN Deportes
Game 1 of the NBA Finals on ESPN Deportes averaged a 0.6 Hispanic Household Rating with 124,000 total Hispanic viewers, making it the most-watched and highest-rated Game 1 ever on the network.

(Sources: ESPN, Sports Media Watch)

Follow @SonOfTheBronx

For mobile users, you may scroll this table horizontally.

	Thursday, June 2, 2016
	PROGRAM	HH/Share	Viewers (000)	Adults 18-34	Adults 18-49	Adults 25-54
8-11	Network Average	8.3/15	15417	5.1/23	5.2/19	5.5/17
8:00	Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night (s)	2.9/5	4465	1.2/6	1.2/5	1.4/5
8:31	NBA Countdown (s)	4.0/8	6272	2.0/10	2.1/9	2.3/8
9:00	2016 NBA Finals Game 1 Cleveland @ Golden State (s) (thru 11:40)	11.1/20	19197	7.1/30	7.3/26	7.6/23
	PROGRAM	HH/Share	Viewers (000)	Adults 18-34	Adults 18-49	Adults 25-54
8-11	Network Average	3.4/6	5068	0.5/2	1.0/3	1.5/5
8:00	Big Bang Theory (r)	5.1/10	7785	0.9/5	1.6/6	2.3/8
8:31	Life in Pieces (r)	3.6/7	5523	0.6/3	1.2/4	1.7/6
9:01	Mom (r)	3.5/6	5187	0.5/2	1.0/4	1.6/5
9:30	The Odd Couple (r)	2.9/5	4279	0.4/2	0.8/3	1.3/4
10:00	Code Black (r)	2.6/5	3773	0.4/2	0.6/2	1.0/3
	PROGRAM	HH/Share	Viewers (000)	Adults 18-34	Adults 18-49	Adults 25-54
8-11	Network Average	1.6/3	2395	0.3/1	0.5/2	0.7/2
8:00	Strong	1.8/3	2656	0.4/2	067/3	0.9/3
9:00	Game of Silence (thru 11:00)	1.6/3	2264	0.3/1	0.5/2	0.6/2
	PROGRAM	HH/Share	Viewers (000)	Adults 18-34	Adults 18-49	Adults 25-54
8-10	Network Average	2.1/4	3285	0.5/2	0.8/3	1.0/3
8:00	Bones	3.0/6	4607	0.6/3	0.9/4	1.2/4
9:00	American Grit	1.2/2	1963	0.4/2	0.6/2	0.8/2
	PROGRAM	HH/Share	Viewers (000)	Adults 18-34	Adults 18-49	Adults 25-54
8-10	Network Average	0.5/1	791	0.2/1	0.2/1	0.3/1
8:00	DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (r)	0.5/1	750	0.2/1	0.2/1	0.3/1
9:00	Beauty and the Beast (p)	0.6/1	833	0.2/1	0.2/1	0.3/1
	PROGRAM	HH/Share	Viewers (000)	Adults 18-34	Adults 18-49	Adults 25-54
8-11	Network Average	0.9/2	1700		0.6/2
7:00	Sueño de Amor	0.7/1	1280		0.4/2
8:00	Un Camino Hacia El Destino	1.0/2	1785		0.6/2
9:02	Tres Veces Ana	1.0/2	1945		0.7/2
10:05	Yago	0.7/1	1322		0.5/2
	PROGRAM	HH/Share	Viewers (000)	Adults 18-34	Adults 18-49	Adults 25-54
8-11	Network Average	0.2/0	350		0.1/0
7:00	Sal y Pimienta	0.1/0	230		0.1/0
8:00	La Rosa de Guadalupe	0.3/0	500		0.2/1
9:00	Cine: Fuerza de ataque (2006) (thru 11:00)	0.2/0	275		0.1/0

Sub-Demo Breakdowns – Thursday 6/02/16

Cable Rankings – Thursday 6/02/16

What follows are the top 100 most-watched shows in prime time on cable (by order of network) for Thursday, June 2:

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research