NBA Western Conference Finals Game 2 Delivers 49 Percent Audience Increase from Last Time on ESPN

· Game 2 Audience Peaked with 9,475,000 Viewers

· Golden State-Houston Helps Propel ESPN to Win the Night in TV Across Key Demos

NBA Western Conference Finals Game 2 on ESPN - the Golden State Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets - delivered an average audience of 6,866,000 viewers (p2+) on Thursday night, according to Nielsen. The telecast peaked from 11:30 p.m.-11:45 p.m. ET with 9,475,000 viewers. This is up 49 percent from the last time ESPN televised Western Conference Finals Game 2 (San Antonio-Memphis in 2013) which generated 4,620,000 viewers. Thursday's Game 2 was also up 20 percent from the corresponding game in 2014 (San Antonio-Oklahoma City) which delivered 5,711,000 viewers.

Additionally, Game 2 posted a 4.4 U.S. household rating, up 42 percent from 2013 (3.1) and 19 percent from 2014 (3.7). The 4.4 rating propelled ESPN to win the night across all of television (broadcast and cable) across key demos, including M18-34, M18-49, M25-54, P18-34, P18-49 and P25-54.

Game 2 on WatchESPN

Golden State-Houston Game 2 generated an average minute audience of 127,161, which makes it the fourth-best ever for an NBA game on WatchESPN.

NBA Western Conference Finals Game 3 on ESPN is tonight at 9 p.m. with Mike Breen, analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson and reporter Doris Burke providing commentary. Kia NBA Countdown will precede the game at 8 p.m. with a one-hour, on-site pre-game show hosted by Sage Steele and featuring analysts Doug Collins and Jalen Rose.