The NBA is heading into the conference finals with postseason TV ratings trending up.

Through the first two rounds, the NBA playoffs are averaging 4.17 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, and TNT, which is up 3% compared to the same point in 2024. This marks the second-most-watched playoffs through the first two rounds since 2014, trailing only the 2023 postseason.

Conference semifinal games averaged 4.91 million viewers, up 1% over last year, after the opening round of play averaged 3.7 million viewers, which was up 6% compared to 2024.

The most-watched game of the playoffs so far is Game 4 of the Timberwolves-Lakers first-round series, which drew 7.35 million viewers on ABC. Minnesota eliminated Los Angeles one game later and then defeated the Warriors in Round 2, taking out the NBA’s top two TV draws.

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards now has a chance to make his case as the next face of the NBA. However, Minnesota is a big betting underdog (+235) against the Thunder in the Western Conference finals, which begin Tuesday night on ESPN.

Meanwhile, the Knicks are back in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years, which means the No. 1 U.S. media market, New York, should drive strong ratings for their series against the Pacers. It also extends the playoff run of the courtside celebrity row at Madison Square Garden.

With one of the Knicks, Pacers, Thunder, or T-Wolves set to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy next month, the NBA will have a new champion for the seventh consecutive season. The Warriors were the last team to win back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. 

The unprecedented era of parity hasn’t hurt TV ratings this year, but whether this Final Four can continue to deliver big audiences remains to be seen.

The ranks of minority equity holders in the NFL have again expanded. 

League owners approved four new team stake sales Tuesday, including Arctos Partners acquiring an 8% stake of the Chargers, which is the NFL’s third private equity deal since approving the entry of those investors last summer. Arctos also holds a 10% stake in the Bills. 

Also gaining approval from team owners, convening in Minnesota for their spring meeting, were:

• A sale of a roughly 6% stake of the 49ers to the families of Vinod Khosla, William Griffith, and Byron Deeter. The deal carried a valuation of $8.6 billion for the 49ers, the largest of any North American pro sports franchise. 

• A sale of 0.1% of the Browns to Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson. The former star defensive back will need to remove his name and likeness from alcohol brands he owns as part of the terms of joining an NFL team ownership group. A member of Fox NFL Kickoff, Woodson will also need to comply with similar broadcasting restrictions as Tom Brady, such as not participating in pregame production meetings. 
• A sale of 1.1% of the Dolphins by existing limited partner Joe Tsai, also the Nets owner, to a group of businessmen. Tsai, who became a limited partner of the Dolphins less than six months ago, will still own nearly 2% of the team.

The series of deals, while each carrying its own specific motivations, arrives as NFL team values continue to soar to unprecedented levels. That, in turn, has provided investors with new opportunities to gain liquidity from the valuable assets. 

“Arctos’ track record in major professional sports speaks for itself, and we are grateful for their alignment moving forward during this time for tremendous growth for our organization,” Chargers owner Dean Spanos said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, Blackstone and CVC have departed a consortium that was among the four league-approved private equity entities permitted to do team deals. That group will still include original members Carlyle Group, Dynasty Equity, and Ludis, founded and led by Pro Football Hall of Famer Curtis Martin. Separately, Arctos, Ares Management, and Sixth Street Group are also NFL-approved private equity investors.

Ares also has a stake in the Dolphins, the other private equity deal in the league along with the ones for the Chargers and Bills.

International Surge

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, meanwhile, reiterated at a CNBC event that a 16-game slate of international games is arriving “in the very near future,” and perhaps within five years. That comment is entirely consistent with remarks he made last fall, and is a fundamental part of the NFL’s global vision that includes seven international games this season.

“International is an open market for us,” Goodell said. “We are excited about our potential.”

Along those lines, all 32 teams are now part of the league’s Global Markets Program after the Bills and Bengals gained rights to Canada and the Titans acquired rights to Ireland. Overall, the program spans 21 international markets.

Scottie Scheffler’s dominant victory at the PGA Championship was great for his bank account—but not TV ratings.

CBS drew an average of 4.76 million viewers for Sunday’s final round, which was down 4% from the 4.96 million people who watched the PGA Tour’s Xander Schauffele sink a birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the 2024 PGA Championship to defeat LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke to win his first major.

Sunday’s audience was up 5% from the 4.52 million viewers for 2023’s final round, though, when Brooks Koepka won his fifth major.

CBS had been on a hot streak with golf TV ratings this season, led by a 33% year-over-year boost at The Masters, when 12.71 million viewers tuned in to the final round to see Rory McIlroy complete the career Grand Slam. The 2024 Masters—the most recent major Scheffler had won—was down 20% in TV ratings compared to the previous year.

NBC will broadcast the final two majors of the year: the U.S. Open and the Open Championship (also known as the British Open).

In the Rough

PGA Championship TV ratings were down across the board.

The third round on Saturday averaged 3.11 million viewers on CBS, which was down 12% from 2024.

ESPN was down for its early-round coverage on Thursday and Friday afternoons, too.

The first round averaged 955,000 viewers, down 13% from 1.1 million in 2024. The second round averaged 1.3 million viewers—with the power threesome of Scheffler, McIlroy, and Schauffele completing their day—down nearly 19% from 2024, when coverage included Tiger Woods playing most of his round that day.

ESPN+ had exclusive PGA Championship coverage on Thursday and Friday mornings, but those viewership numbers are not made public.