NBA Finals Register Historic Ratings

Tuesday night marked a historical event for the Golden State Warriors, as the professional basketball team rallied against Lebron James' Cleveland Cavaliers to win their first NBA championship since 1975. But Tuesday was also a landmark night for Walt Disney Co.

, 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-Jordan Finals record, which was set in 2001 by the L.A. Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers. The last series to have more viewers was Michael Jordan's Bulls' route of the Utah Jazz in 1998. ABC owes most of this ratings success to the Warriors and Cav, according to Marc Berman, Editor-in-Chief of TV Media Insights. "These were just two very good teams and an exciting series," he said, 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, Lebron James' six Finals series have averaged 16.1 million viewers, while Jordan's six series averaged over 25 million.