Golden State Warriors' Record, Kobe Bryant's Farewell Deliver Most-Watched NBA Regular-Season Finales Ever on ESPN

By: Apr. 15, 2016
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One of the most historic nights in NBA regular-season history delivered the two most-watched NBA regular-season finales ever on ESPN networks, according to Nielsen. The Golden State Warriors' record-setting 73rd win delivered 3,649,000 viewers (p2+), making it the most-watched, regular-season NBA game on ESPN in over two years, since January of 2014. It propelled ESPN to win the night on cable in several key demos, including P18-34, P18-49, M18-34, M18-49 and M25-54. The telecast peaked from 11:15 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. ET with 4,160,000 average viewers.

Simultaneously, Kobe Bryant's farewell game - Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz - delivered 3,465,000 viewers (p2+), which is the largest audience ever for an NBA regular-season game on ESPN2. The telecast peaked from 1 a.m. - 1:13 a.m. with 5,381,000 average viewers.

WatchESPN Records Kobe Bryant's farewell game and the Golden State Warriors' record-setting victory rank first and second, respectively, as the two most-streamed NBA regular-season games ever on WatchESPN. The Los Angeles Lakers win over the Utah Jazz produced 24,450,000 total minutes streamed, drew 563,500 unique viewers, and generated an average minute audience of 139,000. The Golden State Warriors' victory over the Memphis Grizzlies produced a total of 16,200,000 total minutes streamed, drew 426,600 unique viewers and an average minute audience of 113,000 viewers.

ESPN Deportes Record Wednesday night's Lakers-Jazz telecast averaged 116,000 Hispanic p2+ impressions on ESPN Deportes, making it the most-watched regular-season NBA game ever on Spanish-language cable.

The 2016 NBA Playoffs will start and finish across ESPN networks, beginning with a quadruple-header this Saturday, April 16, including the 73-win Golden State Warriors' playing host to the Houston Rockets on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET.



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