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The NBA Finals continues to trend upward in its viewership, but still lacks behind previous years.
Game 4’s Friday night thriller between the Pacers and Thunder averaged a series-high 9.41 million viewers on ABC, according to Sports Media Watch. The series is still on track to be the NBA’s least-watched Finals since the 2020 bubble.
Friday night’s total was the second straight series-high, but down 2% from Celtics-Mavericks the prior year. Game 4 of the 2024 Finals was a blowout win by the Mavericks to extend the series and drew 9.62 million viewers.
Though low, ratings continue to climb.
- Game 1: 8.91 million
- Game 2: 8.76 million
- Game 3: 9.19 million
- Game 4: 9.41 million
The 2025 Finals is averaging 9.07 million viewers through four games. That’s down roughly 20% from the first four games of last year; however, the NBA and ABC parent Disney are guaranteed at least six games, and ratings generally improve as series get longer.
Oklahoma City took Monday night’s Game 5, 120–109, and could clinch the series on the road Thursday night.
Thunder–Pacers features two small-market teams without one of the NBA’s global stars such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant, which has made it a tough draw despite its competitiveness.
The fourth game of the series was down to the wire until league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander carried the Thunder to the series-tying 111–104 win. The game peaked at 12 million viewers.
Only the 2020 COVID Finals performed worse in the Nielsen era, which started in 1988. The Lakers–Heat ‘bubble’ Finals aired in the first week of October and averaged roughly 7 million viewers.
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