A 1% drop isn’t cause to sound alarm bells. Still, a 1% drop was enough to give the NBA All Star Game a black eye and a new record low. The game drew a 4.2 final rating on TNT, down from the 4.3 rating the 2006 All Star Game drew. (The cable rating was a 5.1, meaning that 5.1% of all television homes with cable tuned into the game).
The All-Star Game has been faltering in the ratings since the NBA lockout. The 1998 game drew a 10.6 rating, down from previous years but still competitive with the dominant Major League Baseball All Star Game (which drew a 13.3 in 1998).
After the 1999 game was canceled, the 2000 edition drew a then-record low 6.9. In 2001, the game set another record low with a 5.1 In 2002 and 2003, the game was a decent draw for NBC and TNT, respectively, but that may have had more to do with Michael Jordan than anything — it doesn’t seem to be a coincidence that the only two All Star Games not to set or tie record lows involved the legendary star.
2004 saw a 5.1 rating, followed by new record lows in the next three years. 2005, 2006 and 2007 produced ratings of 4.9, 4.3 and 4.2. Considering that TNT is cable, a 4.2 rating is far from bad — in fact, the game was the highest rated of the year so far on cable. Still, it doesn’t say much for the NBA All Star Game that ratings have fallen 60% since ’98.
