NBA Finals Register Historic TV Ratings For Disney's ABC

Tuesday night marked a historical event for the Golden State Warriors, as the team rallied against LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers to win its first NBA championship since 1975.

But Tuesday was also a landmark night for Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS), as its ABC television network garnered its highest Finals ratings ever since it began coverage of the event in 2003.

With an average of 19.94 million viewers over six games, the series broke the post-Michael Jordan Finals record, which was set in 2001 by the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers. The last series to have more viewers was Jordan's Bulls' route of the Utah Jazz in 1998.

Related Link: NBA Finals Boost WatchESPN And Sling TV Ahead Of Amazon Prime

ABC owes most of this ratings success to the Warriors and Cavaliers, according to Marc Berman, Editor-in-Chief of TV Media Insights.

"These were just two very good teams and an exciting series," Berman told Benzinga, noting that "[the Bay Area] and [Cleveland] aren't even the biggest markets."

The matchup culminated in a big night on Tuesday.

Tuesday's Game 6 finale racked up over 23 million viewers, the most for a Game 6 since ABC began broadcasting the Finals. It was the most-watched Finals game since the 2013's Game 7 showdown between James' Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs.

Overall, James' six Finals series have averaged 16.1 million viewers, while Jordan's six series averaged over 25 million.