Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week’s edition, the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals closed out as the most-watched edition since 2023, the NHL’s Western Conference Final keeps shattering decades-old records on ESPN, FOX celebrates the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history and the most-watched UFL regular-season game ever, FOX Saturday Baseball climbs 20 percent year over year, and NASCAR on Prime posts all-time highs with an emotional Coca-Cola 600.

NBA: East Finals Cap a Two-Year High

ESPN and ABC delivered strong viewership for the 2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals presented by Dunkin’, with the four-game series averaging an audience of 7.4 million viewers across the two networks, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel. The series marked the most-watched Eastern Conference Finals since 2023 and represented a 37 percent increase compared to the 2025 Western Conference Finals on ESPN. Individual games posted notable gains as well: Game 2 on ESPN averaged 7.1 million viewers, the highest for an Eastern Conference Finals Game 2 since 2018, while Game 3 on ABC drew 8.1 million viewers, the most-watched Game 3 in the round since 2011. Game 4 on ESPN averaged 7.2 million viewers, the most-viewed Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 across any network since 2018. ABC serves as the exclusive home of the 2026 NBA Finals, beginning Wednesday, June 3.

NHL: Avalanche-Golden Knights Rewrites the Record Book

The Western Conference Final between the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights has delivered record-setting numbers across ESPN networks throughout the series. Game 1 on Wednesday averaged 2.1 million viewers, up 45 percent versus last year’s Western Conference Final Game 1 and the most-viewed Game 1 in the round since 2018 (Vegas-Winnipeg). Game 2 on Friday became the most-viewed Western Conference Final Game 2 since 2002 (Colorado-Detroit on ESPN), and Game 3 on Sunday averaged 2.5 million viewers, up 45 percent, marking the most-viewed Game 3 in the round since 2002 (Detroit-Colorado on ESPN). Through three games, the Western Conference Final on ESPN networks is averaging 2.3 million viewers, up 48 percent year over year. The broader 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs on ESPN networks is averaging 1.6 million viewers, up 73 percent year over year, with ESPN posting its most-viewed First and Second Round of the Playoffs since the new rights deal. ESPN’s postseason culminates with exclusive coverage of the Stanley Cup Final.

UFL: Louisville-Dallas Sets a League Benchmark

FOX UFL drew 1,593,000 viewers as Louisville defeated Dallas 37-23, making it the most-watched regular-season UFL game since the league’s 2024 launch, according to Nielsen Media Research. The broadcast was up 18 percent from the comparable 2025 Week 9 game (1,348,000 viewers) and up 147 percent from last year’s average for regular-season games on FOX (646,000 viewers). Viewership peaked at 3,166,000 from 4:42–4:45 p.m. ET.

IndyCar: A Photo Finish for the Ages at Indy

FOX scored with the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history, as 6,635,000 viewers watched Felix Rosenqvist edge David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds with a last-lap pass to win the Indy 500 on Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research. The race ranked as the second-most-watched Indianapolis 500 since 2012 (6,851,000) and peaked at 8,349,000 viewers from 4:00–4:15 p.m. ET. Through seven races, INDYCAR on FOX is averaging 2,383,000 viewers, up 10 percent from 2025 (2,173,000) — the best start to an INDYCAR season since the 2008 merge.

MLB: Dodgers Power FOX Saturday Baseball Gains

A total of 2,355,000 viewers tuned in to FOX Saturday Baseball for a two-game slate highlighted by the Dodgers’ 11-3 victory over the Brewers in most of the country, according to Nielsen Media Research. The audience was up 20 percent versus last year’s FOX Saturday Baseball viewership average (1,960,000) and peaked at 2,604,000 viewers from 9:45–10:00 p.m. ET. Among local home markets, Milwaukee led with a 9.9 rating, followed by St. Louis (8.4), Cincinnati (5.6), and Los Angeles (3.9).

NASCAR: Coca-Cola 600 Drives Prime to All-Time Highs

NASCAR on Prime delivered all-time highs this past Sunday during an emotional Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway, a broadcast that opened with a tribute to Kyle Busch featuring Dale Earnhardt Jr., drivers including Bubba Wallace at the desk, and a moment of silence before Daniel Suarez secured his third Cup Series victory in the 373-lap race. Per Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel measurement, the race averaged 3.06 million viewers — the most-watched NASCAR on Prime race to date and up 12 percent versus last season’s Coca-Cola 600 on Prime — peaking from 9:15–9:29 p.m. ET with 3.37 million viewers. Prime posted increases across all key demos under 55 versus this season’s linear Cup Series races, including P18-34 (303K, +14%), P18-49 (822K, +26%), and P25-54 (1.04M, +25%), and delivered a median age of 57.2, nearly six years younger than linear Cup Series audiences this season and the youngest since Prime’s 2025 coverage concluded at Pocono. The pre-race NASCAR Live from Charlotte averaged a best-ever 1.41 million viewers, while the 71-minute post-race NASCAR Live from Victory Lane averaged an all-time-high 1.12 million.

On the Nielsen household and per-minute side, the Coca-Cola 600 earned a 1.07 household rating with 2.6 million viewers per minute, up 1 percent over 2025 Charlotte I, peaking at 3.1 million from 7:15–7:30 p.m. and finishing up 31 percent over the 2025 cable race average of 2.0 million across 24 races on FS1/TNT/USA. Elsewhere, Saturday’s weather-impacted NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race on The CW earned a 0.54 household rating and 945,000 viewers per minute — averaging 1.3 million before a delay of more than four hours led to the race being called after 91 laps — marking the 15th consecutive week the series ranked as the #1 telecast of the week on the network. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, moved from Friday prime time, averaged a 0.24 household rating with 428,000 viewers per minute in its Sunday window on FS1, up 4 percent year over year, ranking as the #1 sports event of the week on the network ahead of MLB and all IndyCar events.

A Look Back at The Week of May 18-24

The NBA playoffs dominated the sports television landscape for the week of May 18-24, sweeping the top seven positions in the Top 25 rankings. NBC’s broadcast of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals between the Thunder and Spurs claimed the No. 1 spot as the week’s most-watched live sports event, drawing 8.36 million viewers on Sunday, May 24. The Knicks-Cavaliers Eastern Conference matchup and additional Spurs-Thunder games filled out the remaining top slots across ABC, ESPN and NBC, with Game 3 of Knicks vs. Cavaliers on ABC landing at No. 2 and Game 2 of Spurs vs. Thunder on NBC at No. 3.

Motorsports made a strong showing in the middle of the pack, with FOX’s coverage of the Indianapolis 500 driving to No. 8 with 6.64 million viewers and Prime Video’s NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 placing No. 10. The PGA Tour’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson carded three appearances — final and third rounds on CBS at Nos. 9 and 12, plus early final-round coverage on Golf Channel at No. 25 — while the NHL playoffs iced six positions, led by the Canadiens-Sabres Game 7 on ESPN at No. 11 and a run of Avalanche-Golden Knights and Canadiens-Hurricanes games across ESPN, TNT and TruTV. Rounding out the rankings, FOX’s regional MLB coverage took No. 14, Univision’s soccer slate earned three spots (Nos. 19, 21 and 22), and the UFL, college softball and WNBA each registered single entries, with FOX’s Renegades-Kings game at No. 20, ESPN’s Arizona State-Texas softball at No. 23 and NBC’s Wings-Liberty WNBA matchup at No. 24.