ABC and parent company Disney are extending their massive viewership run through the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final, posting another bullish result Monday while the trend is expected to continue on Tuesday.
The network said Monday that Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Hurricanes and Golden Knights, meanwhile, averaged 4.7 million viewers, up 88% from the comparable game last year on TNT Sports and up 33% from Game 2 of the event two years ago on ABC.
The latest result represents the most-watched Stanley Cup Final Game 2 since a Blackhawks-Lightning clash in 2015—long before the acceleration of the cord-cutting wave that has upended the entire media industry.
With 4.8 million viewers for Game 1 of the series, the 2026 Stanley Cup Final through these first two games is up 93% from a year ago, and also the best result so far in 11 years. It also extends a wave of viewership growth throughout the NHL’s postseason this year and is expanding the league’s ambitions for its next set of U.S. rights agreements.
Watching the Scores
A similarly robust wave of growth is expected Tuesday when the network reports viewership for Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs. That series averaged 16.9 million viewers for Game 1 last Wednesday, up 90% from a year ago, and the most-watched NBA Finals opener since 2018.
On top of rising fan interest in both events, the two title series have not lacked for drama. With Saturday’s Game 3, the opening trio of Stanley Cup Final games has each been decided by a single goal, two have gone into overtime, and that third game went into double overtime as Vegas won to claim a 2–1 series lead.
Though the Knicks hold a commanding 2–0 NBA Finals lead, both of the wins have required comebacks from double-digit road deficits as New York has notably held San Antonio superstar Victor Wembanyama in check.
“[Knicks center] Karl-Anthony Towns is kicking Wembanyama’s ass in this series, and it’s absolutely the difference in what’s going on right now,” said ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on First Take on Monday.
A viewership figure for last Friday’s Game 2 of NBA Finals is expected on Tuesday.
ABC had a back-and-forth programming run last week with the Stanley Cup and NHL Finals, with a game from one of the two each night between Tuesday and Saturday. That will continue beginning with Monday’s Game 3 of the NBA Finals, and continue nightly this week through Thursday.
Corporate Considerations
For Disney, the two championship series represent a solid, and perhaps needed, dose of good news. ESPN, the sister network of ABC that is aiding with the coverage in each series, is bracing for another wave of layoffs.
Disney’s stock, meanwhile, is down about 9% in the last month, and nearly 12% for the year to date as it continues its transition under new CEO Josh D’Amaro.
