For the first time since gaining the rights to the event in 2003, TNT saw ratings increase for the NBA All-Star Game.
The 2009 NBA All Star Game drew a 4.1 U.S. rating and 6.9 million viewers on TNT Sunday night, up 8% and 10% respectively from a 3.8 and 6.3 million for last year’s game. This marks the first time since 2002 that ratings have increased for the NBA All-Star Game.
(Update: Actually, the 2009 NBA All-Star Game drew a 4.5 U.S. rating and 7.6 million viewers).
The 6.9 million viewers is the most for the NBA All-Star Game since 2006, when the game drew 7.1 million. Compared to other sports, the 6.9 million for the All-Star Game is 22% lower than the 8.8 million for last Sunday’s Pro Bowl and 52% less than the 14.5 million for the first nine innings of last year’s fifteen-inning MLB All-Star Game. Keep in mind that both the NFL and MLB games aired on broadcast, as opposed to cable.
The game saw modest increases in key demographics, including a 10% rise among adults 18-34.
The increased ratings for the All-Star Game caps a successful weekend for TNT, which also saw record-high ratings for NBA All-Star Saturday Night. Despite the positive trend, the NBA All-Star Game finishes as the second-lowest rated and third-least viewed in history.
Ratings/viewership for All-Star Games.
Ratings for games on cable are U.S. area ratings.
9.3, 14.5 mil: 2008 MLB All Star Game* (Tue., 7/15/08, 8 PM FOX)
5.4, 8.8 mil: 2009 Pro Bowl (Sun., 2/8/09, 4:30 PM NBC)
4.1, 6.9 mil: 2009 NBA All-Star Game (Sun., 2/15/09, 8:30 PM TNT)
0.6, 1.1 mil: 2009 NHL All Star Game (Sun., 1/25/09, 6 PM Versus)
*Ratings/viewership for 2008 MLB All Star Game are for only the first nine innings of the fifteen inning game.
