Pure joy. http://pic.twitter.com/GJonwDNsfS
— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) June 17, 2015
It seems like everybody and their mama turned on the tube to watch the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers battle it out on the basketball court. According to CNN Money, ABC had the highest rated NBA finals since the network became its exclusive broadcaster in 2003.
The 2015 NBA finals, with Golden State’s Steph Curry and Cleveland’s LeBron James as the stars, reeled in a 13.9 average rating, up from 2014’s 10.6 rating. The sixth and final game, which aired on Tuesday, ABC posted a 15.9 average rating.
“It is the highest game six in ABC’s history of airing the Finals,” Entertainment Weekly said. “The ratings reached a peak with an 18.8 rating in the 11:45 p.m.-midnight window.”
Whether audiences were pleased with the results or not, massive numbers of people watched the Warriors kick the Cavaliers’ butt in a 105-97 victory — an estimated 20 million tuned in, according to Variety. These numbers are record-breaking for ABC, but in league history, Michael Jordan’s 1998 finals game was the biggest draw ever.
“That series received an average overnight rating of 18.9, continuing a long trend of big numbers for the Finals during the 1980s and 1990s,” SB Nation wrote. “…the Bulls topped the Utah Jazz in six games thanks to Jordan’s heroics.”
The 2015 NBA Finals champions, the Golden State Warriors, also experienced their own record-breaking achievement. It’s been 40 long years since the Bay Area team won a championship — and Curry is finally basking in all its glory.
“I’ve seen [this trophy] on TV so many times,” said Curry, according to Yahoo! Sports. “You dream about what it would be like to pour champagne on yourself. And when that moment comes, holding the trophy and the champagne is falling in my face, that’s when it all sinks in.”
“This is real. It’s the best champagne I ever tasted in my life,” he added.
SBNation concluded that the NBA Finals broadcast was a “major success.”
