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TikTok and YouTube are reinventing sports viewership
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As the New York Knicks clinched their first championship in 53 years and the NBA notched its highest Finals series ratings since 1998, professional basketball was inking another record.
Key facts
- The NBA is in the early years of its 11-year, $77 billion deal
- ESPN streaming saw an increase of 38% in new users over the age of 46, while the youngest cohort between 17 and 25 was up 8%
- Roblox collaborated with Paramount for its Super Bowl broadcast on Nickelodeon, which became the biggest event ever on Roblox with 70 million visits in 30 days: "It was huge," said Gamefam CEO
- The five-game series between the Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs generated "15 billion views and counting on social media, the most ever for an NBA Finals and nearly triple the previous record set
Summary
The five-game series between the Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs generated "15 billion views and counting on social media, the most ever for an NBA Finals and nearly triple the previous record set in 2025," according to the NBA. It's emblematic of an intensifying battleground in live sports as professional leagues seek to reach new and younger fans and media consumption shifts online. TV and streaming platforms have been attracting some of the biggest audiences for live sports this year. And yet social platforms like TikTok and Google's YouTube are claiming a disproportionate amount of viewing time for Generations Z and Alpha, often at no cost.