NBC and Peacock Deliver the Most-Watched First Round Game 7 in NBA History for Saturday Night’s 76ers-Celtics Contest

Saturday Night’s Matchup Averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 11.0 Million Viewers

Saturday night’s NBA Playoff matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 11.0 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, making it the most-watched First Round Game 7 in NBA history, based on official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics. The NBA changed to a First Round best-of-seven format in 2003.

Additional viewership* highlights for 76ers-Celtics Game 7 (7:27-10:13 pm ET) include:

• Most-watched game of the 2025-26 NBA season to date.
• Most-watched First Round game since 1999 when Utah defeated Sacramento in the decisive Game 5 on NBC (11.2 million viewers).
• Up 161% vs. comparable First Round Game 7 last year.
• By averaging 9.2 million TV-only viewers, NBC won the night in total audience and all key demos.
• Most-watched Saturday primetime program on NBC since Jan. 14, 2023 (NFL Wild Card), excluding the Olympics.
• Led by Peacock, the game streamed an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 1.8 million viewers, making it the most streamed NBA game on NBC/Peacock.

^{* Source: Nielsen Big Data + Panel, and digital data from Adobe Analytics}

The 76ers defeated the Celtics, 109-100, on Saturday night at TD Garden in Boston to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Led by Joel Embiid’s 34 points, it was the first time since 1982 that the 76ers defeated the Celtics in a playoff series.

In addition to 76ers-Celtics Game 7, Sunday night’s Game 7, a 114–102 Cleveland Cavaliers victory over the Toronto Raptors from Rocket Arena in Cleveland, averaged a TAD of 7.0 million viewers, making it the second-most-watched game of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Led by Peacock, 1.2 million viewers (AMA) streamed the game.

Raptors-Cavaliers Game 7 concluded the First Round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. First Round highlights include:

• For its 15 First Round playoff games on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports averaged a TAD of 5.5 million viewers, up 61% vs. comparable coverage last year and the most watched for comparable windows since 1994.
• Eleven of the 15 NBC/Peacock games averaged a TAD of 4.5 million viewers, the most for any network since 1999.
• The 15 NBC/Peacock games streamed an AMA of 1.0 million viewers.

NBC Sports also streamed five games on Peacock and NBCSN during the First Round. This is the first time in 24 years that NBC Sports is presenting coverage of the NBA Playoffs.

NBA Playoffs continue tonight with Conference Semifinals doubleheader across NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN

NBC Sports will present a Conference Semifinals NBA Playoff doubleheader tonight across NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN. Two-time NBA All-Star Cade Cunningham and the Eastern Conference No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons host seven-time NBA All-Star Donovan Mitchell, 11-time NBA All-Star James Harden, and the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich., at 7 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN.

Following Cavaliers-Pistons, 22-time NBA All-Star LeBron James and the Western Conference No. 4 seed Los Angeles Lakers visit 2025 NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals from Paycom Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla., at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.