Last Updated on May 9, 2023 by Amber Heard
The NBA Averages 1.6 Million Viewers
The National Basketball Association is a major sport in the United States and is broadcast on national television. It airs on broadcast channels such as ABC and TNT, cable networks such as ESPN, and many regional sports networks. During the regular season, the NBA averages 1.6 million viewers. Some of the teams have experienced declines in television viewership due to LeBron’s “woke” politics, but others like the Lakers and Knicks have been able to maintain high television ratings.
Nets-Sixers game averaged 2.49 million viewers on TNT
Thursday night’s Nets-Sixers game on TNT averaged 2.49 million viewers, marking the first game between the teams since their trade of James Harden for Ben Simmons last month. It was the third-largest regular-season cable audience since Lakers-Bucks on Dec. 22, 2019. The game was also the top primetime program on Thursday among adults 18-49 and 25-54.
LeBron’s “woke” politics has negatively affected ratings
Some NBA fans are upset with LeBron James because of his political stance. LeBron has become increasingly political throughout his career. As a result, the NBA has embraced politics and players have even emblazoned political messages on their jerseys. As a result, critics like Clay Travis believe that LeBron’s politics have hurt the ratings in recent years.
Knicks and Lakers continue to have large television audiences
The Knicks and Lakers continue to draw large television audiences, and they’re not the only NBA teams to do it. This season, their rivalry is also a source of big TV ratings. The Lakers’ win over the Knicks was the highest-rated NBA game on ABC on Christmas, earning a 5.9 overnight rating. It was even higher than last year’s Christmas-day game between the Knicks and the Orlando Magic, which drew a 5.3 rating. Overall, the Lakers/Knicks game was the sixth-highest-rated NBA regular-season game on ABC, and was the third-highest rated game in New York.
NBA regular season averaged 1.6 million viewers
The NBA regular season averaged 1.6 million viewers across the three networks, with three games per night drawing more than a million viewers. The Warriors led the way with an average of 2.8 million viewers over 30 minutes. The Knicks and Spurs followed, each averaging 1.6 million. The Clippers and Rockets averaged 1.61 million each. The least-watched teams were the Pacers, Nuggets, and Nets.
NBA Playoff viewership is up 102% from the months-delayed postseason
The NBA Playoffs are now attracting viewers on television in record numbers. The first round of the 2022 postseason averaged the highest first-round ratings since the 2018 postseason. The increase was attributed largely to a boost in out-of-home viewership. While the initial postseason launch in 2020 was accompanied by numerous problems with Nielsen’s OOH metric, those issues have been solved and viewers are now enjoying their first-round games on television.
NBA All-Star Game averaged 3.1 rating and 6.28 million viewers
The NBA All-Star Game averaged a 3.1 rating and 6.28 million viewers last night, a 6 percent improvement from last year. This is great news for the league, which has been struggling with declining ratings in recent years. After all, the All-Star Game marks the league’s 20th anniversary, and the league was hoping that more fans would tune in to celebrate the big day.
