A lot of people watched the epic battle that was Game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals on Thursday night, where the Golden State Warriors took a 1-0 lead on the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 108-100 win in overtime. As it turns out, the ratings for Game 1 were historically pretty good:
Highest-Rated NBA Finals Game 1 Ever on ABC: 12.9 Overnight Rating Up 24 Percent From Last Year; Broadcast Peaked with 15.6 Rating
— Jess (@JGolden5) June 5, 2015
The 15.6 Peak Rating is from 11:30-11:45 PM EST.
Last year’s rating for Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs was 10.4, which came out to 14.85 million viewers overall.
Since they began airing the NBA Finals in 2002, this was ABC’s highest rating for a Game 1. Their previous high was between the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012, which had over 16 millions viewers.
The NBA Playoffs haven’t seen major ratings boosts this season, and the regular season ratings were down as well. The Finals is the biggest stage for the NBA, but it’s no question that this record can also be attributed to the star-studded match up between Stephen Curry and LeBron James. No matter how it ends, this NBA Finals will be unforgettable, and it’s already breaking records.
