ESPN Delivers Record NBA Playoff Viewership Across All Platforms

ESPN is off to a historic start in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, delivering its largest postseason audience ever across its platforms, according to Nielsen.

Through the first 11 games, ESPN is averaging 4,448,000 viewers — up 13 percent from last year. The network’s second weekend of playoff coverage, spanning Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27, pulled in an average of 5,462,000 viewers, a four percent increase from the same weekend in 2024.

Leading the charge was Sunday’s Game 4 between the Lakers and Timberwolves on ABC, which drew 7,345,000 viewers — the second-most watched Game 4 of a first-round series in the history of ESPN platforms. That broadcast peaked at 10,274,000 viewers around 6:30 p.m. ET as Minnesota pulled away to eliminate Los Angeles.

The matchup outdrew last year’s comparable Game 4 between the Clippers and Mavericks by a whopping 32 percent.

Strong markets, marquee teams, and close contests are helping drive the numbers, and so far, the appetite for playoff basketball looks as strong as ever.

Now only one question remains: Can the momentum carry into Round 2?