Despite the hype, ratings for Dick Vitale‘s foray into the NBA were below average.
The January 7 game between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets, featuring Vitale calling his first NBA game in over a decade, drew a 1.1/2 U.S. rating and 1.5 million viewers on ESPN. Those numbers are below the 1.2 rating and 1.7 million viewers NBA games have averaged on ESPN so far this season.
By comparison, the Lakers/Spurs game in the same timeslot one week later (January 14) drew a 1.3/2 and 2 million viewers.
Perhaps the product on the court moves the needle more than the voices calling the action.
