The Christmas Day NBA Finals rematch on ABC had a huge number of viewers, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors 109-108 in a great game.
The most watched Christmas NBA broadcast from ABC in 12 years
This game reached an audience of 10,163,000 average viewers making it the most-watched Christmas NBA broadcast from ABC in 12 years in the early window (2:30 p.m. ET). According to data supplied by Nielsen, the broadcast reached its peak with 11,800,000 average viewers (p2+) from 5-5:15 p.m.
A 73% Increase
The total audience for the NBA Finals rematches increased 73 percent from 5,880,000 viewers for last year's Chicago Bulls vs. Oklahoma City Thunder. Sunday's broadcast got 10,077,000 average viewers (p2+) on ABC and it reached an average minute streaming audience of 359,000 unique viewers, 87,000 viewers and 14.8 million total minutes streamed. The Cavaliers-Warriors broadcast has become the fifth-most-watched regular-season NBA game in the history of ABC.
ESPN's Most-streamed NBA Christmas Ever
Sunday's five-game slate, which was driven by the Cavaliers vs. Warriors showdown, made ESPN reach its most-streamed NBA Christmas Day ever. The NBA games produced 44.3 million total streaming minutes, 197,000 average unique viewers and an average minute audience of 54,000, which is a 33 percent increase from 33.5 million, nine percent from 180,000, and 29 percent from 42,000, respectively, when compared with last year.
Most-watched ESPN 12 p.m. Christmas game since 2012
The victory of Boston Celtics over the New York Knicks was the most-watched Christmas NBA game on ESPN in the 12 p.m. telecast window since 2012. It reached 3,748,000 total live viewers (ESPN + streaming), which is 17 percent more when compared with 3,208,000 viewers for last year's Miami Heat vs. New Orleans Pelicans game in the same window. The telecast averaged 3,687,000 viewers (p2+), and it reached 4,604,000 viewers from 2-2:30 p.m., on ESPN and an additional average minute streaming audience of 61,000.
