NEW YORK – The 2023 NBA Playoffs across ABC, ESPN and TNT averaged 5.47 million viewers, making it the most-watched playoffs in five years.  NBA games accounted for nine of the top 10 most-watched programs across all of television since the beginning of May and 15 of the top 20 most-watched programs among people under 50 since the start of April.

The 2023 NBA Finals, which saw the Denver Nuggets defeat the Miami Heat in a five-game series on ABC, averaged 11.64 million viewers, more than tripling its competition and winning the night across all of television for all five broadcasts.  The championship-clinching Game 5 averaged 13.08 million viewers, up 1% vs. last year’s Game 5, and peaked at 17.88 million viewers at 11 p.m. ET.

Across all @NBA social media platforms, the 2023 NBA Playoffs garnered eight billion views, making it the most-viewed playoffs ever.  @NBA on Twitter was the most-viewed brand on the platform during the 2023 NBA Finals.  Driven by users outside of the U.S., the NBA App also had a historic postseason, with unique viewers on NBA League Pass up 32% vs. last year.  2023 NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic’s popularity on social media skyrocketed throughout the Denver Nuggets’ title run with more than 540 million views, catapulting him from the No. 18 most-viewed player on social last season to No. 1 since May 1.

Additional information on the 2023 NBA Finals and Game 5 viewership performance on ABC was distributed by ESPN PR here.