ESPN delivered the most-watched NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 since 2018, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.  The New York Knicks overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 19 generated an average audience of 7.1M viewers and peaked with 8.87M viewers at 10:45 p.m. ET.

The Game 1 audience was up 33% from ESPN’s Western Conference Finals Game 1 last year (5.36M viewers) as well as up 9% from last season’s Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 (6.55M viewers).

Game 1 was the most-watched cable program of the day among total viewers (P2+) and won all key male and person demos across broadcast and cable on May 19.

ABC serves as the exclusive home of the 2026 NBA Finals, beginning Wednesday, June 3.