or


[05/20/09 - 02:55 PM]
Nuggets/Lakers Game 1 - ESPN's Most-Viewed Basketball Telecast Ever
ESPN spins the numbers for Tuesday, May 19.
[via press release from ESPN]

Nuggets/Lakers Game 1 � ESPN's Most-Viewed Basketball Telecast Ever

ESPN's Highest-Rated & Most-Viewed Program of the Year

ESPN Conference Final Game 1 Audience Up 49 Percent

ESPN's telecast of the NBA Western Conference Finals Game 1 between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday, May 19, at 9 p.m. ET earned a 5.8 rating, representing an average of 5,688,000 household impressions and 8,085,000 viewers (P2+) to become the network's most-viewed basketball game ever (college or pro). This breaks the record set just last week � 5,306,000 households and 7,352,000 viewers for Houston/Los Angeles, Game 6 of the 2009 Western Conference Semifinals (May 14).

Additional highlights:

The telecast is the network's highest-rated and most-viewed program in the calendar year (since December 29, 2008), topping last week's Game 6 from the Lakers/Rockets series (5.4 rating);

The Nuggets/Lakers outpaced last year's Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 between Detroit/Boston, up 49 percent in viewers (5,431,000), 35 percent in households (4,215,000) and 32 percent in rating (4.4);

The Nuggets/Lakers game delivered a 16.1 rating in Denver, the highest-rated NBA game on ESPN or ABC ever locally (records date back to 2003). In L.A., the game posted a 13.2 rating, the highest-rated NBA Playoff game on ESPN (excluding The Finals, with records going back to 2003).

Coverage of the Western Conference Finals featuring the Nuggets/Lakers will continue with Game 2 Thursday, May 21, on ESPN at 9 p.m. Mike Breen will call the game with analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy and reporter Doris Burke. The game will also be available via ESPN HD, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV. Kia NBA Shootaround will preview the game on ESPN at 8 p.m.





  [may 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[05/28/26 - 03:23 PM]
2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Presented by Dunkin' Finishes Strong with Average Audience of 7.4 Million Viewers Across ESPN and ABC
Additionally, Game 4 on ESPN averaged 7.2 million viewers, marking the most-viewed Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 across any network since 2018.
[05/28/26 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Outpaces Competitors with Eight of the Top 25 Series Across All Streaming and Broadcast Originals in Nielsen's All-Series Ranker
CBS has the most top 25 series of any streaming or broadcast competitor and twice as many as its closest broadcast competitor, including six series with 10+ million viewers.
[05/28/26 - 10:31 AM]
FOX Delivers Most-Watched UFL Game Since League Started in 2024
1,593,000 viewers watched as Louisville defeated Dallas 37-23 on Sunday.
[05/28/26 - 10:26 AM]
FOX Scores with 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
6,635,000 viewers watched Felix Rosenqvist edge David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds with a last-lap pass to win the Indy 500 Sunday on FOX.
[05/27/26 - 03:13 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Draws Strong Audience Over Holiday Weekend
2,355,000 viewers tuned in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Dodgers' 11-3 victory over the Brewers in most of the country.
[05/26/26 - 12:03 PM]
"Off Campus" Season 1 Has Reached 36 Million Viewers Worldwide in Its First 12 Days
Off Campus. On everyone's screen.
[05/26/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 18 - In Ruthless Pursuit, "Nemesis" Steals No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Retirement in "The Boroughs" is anything but sleepy as the Duffer Brothers-produced sci-fi series took No. 2 on the list with 5.6 million views.
[05/26/26 - 11:00 AM]
"Dutton Ranch" Is the Biggest Original Series Debut in Paramount+ History
In addition to its record-setting performance on Paramount+, "Dutton Ranch" is also the #1 streaming series according to Nielsen based on average audience for the week of May 11 according to preliminary data.
[05/21/26 - 02:32 PM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 Since 2018
The New York Knicks overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 19 generated an average audience of 7.1 million viewers and peaked with 8.87 million viewers at 10:45 p.m. ET.

[05/21/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Survivor" Historic 50th Season Concludes with Most-Watched Finale Since 2020
The season finale drew an average of 5.78 million viewers, based on Nielsen Preliminary panel only data.
[05/21/26 - 07:01 AM]
NBC Sports' 2026 SuperMotocross Coverage Delivers Viewership Gains and Milestones
The seven races featured on NBC and Peacock averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 468,000 viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 8% vs. 2025.
[05/20/26 - 03:05 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver the Most-Watched Western Conference Finals Game 1 Ever for Monday's Spurs-Thunder Double Overtime Thriller
Coverage peaked with 12.0 million viewers from 11:30-11:43 p.m. ET for the second overtime and game's conclusion.
[05/20/26 - 03:04 PM]
ESPN Aired Its Most Viewed 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round of the Current Rights Deal
Collectively all 11 Second Round games, with nine airing on ESPN and two on ABC, delivered 2.2 million viewers, up 76% year-over-year.

[05/20/26 - 07:36 AM]
After Record-Setting 2025 Season, "Sunday Night Football" Finishes Fall-Spring TV Season as Primetime's No. 1 Show for Unprecedented 15th Consecutive Year
The series averaged 23.5 million viewers in 2025, marking the show's best-ever viewership - up nearly 1 million viewers from the prior record for the series set a decade ago (22.6 million in 2015 season) and an increase of 9% over the '24 season (21.6 million).
[05/19/26 - 02:52 PM]
Subway Series Delivers Second Most-Watched FOX Saturday Baseball Telecast of the Season
2,500,000 viewers tuned-in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Mets' 6-3 victory over the Yankees in most of the country.