The 2025 NBA playoffs kicked off to double-digit viewership growth amid a changing of the guard — both as younger stars have stepped forward and as the league heads into a lucrative TV rights deal, including a new home on NBC.
Through the conference semifinals, which included 22 games, the NBA playoffs’ audience is running 12% ahead of last year on ESPN platforms (including ESPN and ABC), according to Nielsen. ESPN is averaging 4.88 million viewers, ranking as the No. 2 most-watched NBA playoffs since 2011.
Sunday’s Game 7 matchup in which the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets scored 6.34 million viewers, becoming the day’s most-watched TV program, and peaked with 7.63 million viewers.
Likewise, Friday’s Game 6 between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, which saw the Knicks upset the Celtics with a 119-81 win, brought in an average viewership of 5.73 million, and peaked with 6.6 million viewers. Viewership for the game was up 14% from last year’s Game 6 between the Knicks and Indiana Pacers.
The first round of the playoffs, which kicked off on April 19 and averaged 3.1 million viewers on ESPN and 2.8 million viewers on TNT, were among the sports events that helped boost cable’s share of the overall viewing pie, according to Nielsen’s The Gauge report for April. The NBA playoffs as well as ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft, which was the most-watched cable telecast in April with 6.4 million viewers, helped boost cable to 24.5% of total TV watch-time for the month, gaining 0.5 share points compared to March.
These gains come at a pivotal time for the NBA, with the playoff results symbolically passing the baton to a next generation of stars, such as Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as veterans like LeBron James and Stephen Curry get closer to ending their standout careers.
In addition, the NBA will expand its broadcast footprint next year thanks to its new rights deal, with a regular presence on NBC — which will air Tuesday-night games during the season — in addition to its ABC/ESPN component.
This year’s results — which included a rating rebound after the trade deadline — will also surely be welcomed by NBC, which, like the other TV partners, will be selling ad time for next year based in part on how the NBA performs ratings-wise this season. For the semi-final rounds, at least, having the Knicks contending — representing the No. 1 TV market in the U.S., as well as a media hub — likely won’t hurt.
Newly renewed “The Four Seasons” and “Forever” keep dominating
At Netflix’s upfront presentation last week, the streamer doled out renewals for recently released series “The Four Seasons” and “Forever,” both of which have stayed towards the top of Netflix’s weekly top 10 TV list. “The Four Seasons,” which debuted on May 1, spent its third week on the top 10 English-language TV list this week with 5.3 million views after scoring 12.5 million views last week.
“Forever,” which premiered on May 8, grew from 3.7 million views during its opening weekend to 6.7 million this week, surpassing viewership for “The Four Seasons.”
The streamer also ordered additional seasons of the recently released series “Survival of the Thickest,” “Love on the Spectrum” and “Million Dollar Secret,” as well as early renewals for “The Diplomat,” “Bridgerton” and “My Life With the Walter Boys.” Renewals for other recent series — including “Pulse,” “The Residence” and “Ransom Canyon” — have not yet been handed out, but might be done soon as part of the streamer’s Tudum event in late May.
“American Idol” wraps up with a bang
The ABC singing competition show concluded its eighth season with a ratings milestone. The finale scored 6.51 million total viewers, marking the biggest audience brought in by an “American Idol” telecast in two years, since May 21, 2023. The finale, which also scored a 0.72 rating among adults 18-49, was up 16% in total viewers and saw a 14% in its rating compared to last season’s finale.
Viewership for the “Idol” finale also outpaced this week’s finale of NBC’s “The Voice,” which brought in 4.25 million viewers, widening the gap between the two singing competition shows’ finales in the recent years.
“Bad Boy” makes a mark
“Bad Boy,” the Israeli series that hails from original “Euphoria” creator Ron Leshem and Hagar Ben-Asher, popped into Netflix’s top 10 non-English-language series last week in the No. 8 spot with 1.7 million views. “Bad Boy” has had the best performance for a show from a Middle Eastern country in all of 2025, with “Dubai Bling” also charting on the non-English-language list earlier in January.
The series made it on more top 10 lists globally than any other Israeli series, as “Bad Boy” appeared on the top 10 chart in Israel, France, Italy, Germany, New Zealand, Mexico and Argentina. “Bad Boy” is now the most-watched Israeli show in Netflix history, surpassing “Fauda,” which only popped into the top 10 chart during its second season. The show, which premiered May 2 and is an international co-production between Sipur and Peter Chernin’s North Road Company, has since fallen off the top 10 non-English-language TV list.
