NBA Finals viewership is up 37 percent from last year
The Warriors are back in the Finals after a two-year absence due to some unfortunate injuries and unlucky breaks. What does this mean for the NBA? More viewership. Game One was broadcast across ABC and ESPN2 and it was recorded that there were nearly twelve million viewers (11,901,000) watching. This was reported by Ben Cafardo, a lead ESPN spokesperson that oversees the communications strategy and execution for several areas of The Walt Disney Company Sports category.
This is a 37 percent increase in viewers from last year’s Game One in the Finals that saw the Bucks facing the Suns. To make things even better, the game peaked at around 13 million viewers or (12,963,000) towards the end of the game, making it the most watched Game One in the last three years. Travel back in time three years ago and guess what team was playing in the Finals? The Golden State Warriors.
Game One of the 2022 NBA Finals was also the highest rated NBA game in the San Francisco market, drawing a 22.5 rating, the most since Game Six of the 2019 NBA Finals. These numbers don’t even cover Game Two which saw the Warriors win by a large margin. It also had thrilling plays from Steph Curry and Jordan Poole, who ignited the crowd towards the end of the third quarter.
These numbers are just a testimony to all the loyal fans in the Bay Area and around the world. They were itching to see the Dubs back in the Finals again and they got their wish. Not to mention the large portion of fans who were around when the Warriors were rubbish not so long ago. They knew that two years wouldn’t be a long time to wait in comparison to how long they had waited for the Dubs to be good. While Warriors fans account for many viewers you must think that fans of the NBA are excited to see Curry play in the Finals again and eager to see if the Celtics can take him and the Dubs down in their first Finals run since 2008. And then you have the opposite end of the spectrum, Lebron fans anxiously waiting to see if Curry, Draymond, and Klay will tie him in championship rings. As well as people like Charles Barkley who seem to hate the Warriors success along with San Francisco as a whole.
No matter what fan you are a team of the numbers don’t lie. And every year the Warriors make a deep playoff run, the viewership goes up for the NBA. Which begs the question, are the Warriors the most loved team in the NBA or the most hated? Regardless of the answer, more fans are tuning in than in years past all because the Warriors core is back where they belong, in the NBA Finals.
(Photo credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)