NBA doubleheader reportedly sets league opening-night viewership record, averaging 6.41 million

The NBA announced that Tuesday's 76ers-Knicks and Thunder-Spurs doubleheader averaged 6.41 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. The league called it its most-watched opening night ever.

The 76ers' victory over the Knicks averaged 7.71 million viewers and peaked at 9.1 million at 9:45 p.m. Eastern, according to the NBA. The league called it a record for a primetime opening-night game, not for all NBA games. NBC Sports also called it the most-watched NBA tip-off primetime game. Colin Salao of Front Office Sports reported that NBC announced a rounded two-game average of 6.4 million, citing Nielsen's Big Data + Panel and Adobe Analytics.

The NBA separately reported more than 700 million social media views for American Express NBA Tip-Off, an opening-night record. That event also featured an afternoon Celtics-Pistons matchup. The social-media figure is a view count, not part of the doubleheader's television audience average.