Up 50 Percent from ESPN’s 2016 Conference Finals Game 1; Peaked with 11.4 Million Viewers

 2017 NBA Playoffs on ABC and ESPN Up Eight Percent from 2016

 NBA Western Conference Finals Game 1 on ABC – Golden State Warriors vs. San Antonio Spurs – delivered a total live audience of 8,311,000 viewers (television plus streaming), according to Nielsen. This is up 50 percent from the total live audience of 5,557,000 viewers for ESPN’s Conference Finals coverage in 2016 (Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors). Sunday’s broadcast peaked with 11,395,000 viewers (P2+) from 6-6:15 p.m. ET.

On television, Game 1 generated 8,129,000 viewers, up 50 percent from 5,405,000 viewers in 2016. The game drew an additional average minute streaming audience of 182,000 viewers, up 20 percent from 152,000 viewers last year. Game 1 was the highest-rated telecast on broadcast or cable for Sunday, May 14, across the majority of key demos, including M18-34, M18-49, M25-54, P18-34, P18-49 and P25-54.

Through Western Conference Finals Game 1, the 2017 NBA Playoffs on ABC and ESPN is averaging a total live audience of 4,296,000 viewers, up eight percent from 3,977,000 viewers in 2016.

The NBA Western Conference Finals continues on ESPN tonight, May 16, with Game 2 at 9 p.m. It is also available to be streamed on WatchESPN and the ESPN app.

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Media contact: Ben Cafardo at 860-766-3496 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @Ben_ESPN.