Cleveland fans were hoping the NBA Finals would go to a game 7, and ABC executives – enjoying big ratings for the games – had to be rooting along with them.
Tuesday night’s deciding game 6 brought in a 15.9 overnight rating, which makes it the highest-rated game 6 ever for the network.
The peak of the broadcast hit an 18.8 during the closing minutes when Golden State clinched the championship.
The series which saw Stephen Curry and Golden State Warriors outlast LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the Larry O’Brien trophy averaged an overnight rating of 13.9.
This was up 31% from last year’s finals, which also included James.
The game was also a record for the San Francisco market that the Warriors call home.
The market pulled a 40.7 rating, the highest rating ever for San Francisco going back to 2002 when the records started. This means that an average of 40% of San Francisco homes were tuned into the game on Tuesday.
As for Cleveland, that defeated market still grabbed a 42 rating, good enough for the fifth-highest rated NBA game ever on ABC or ESPN.
Viewership numbers and more detailed demographics will be released later today.