After a relatively slow opening week, ESPN and TNT attracted robust increases during week two of the NBA season.
The four NBA regular season games on ESPN and TNT last week each had double-digit increases in viewership compared to last year, with three of the four rising by over 60%.
In particular, last Wednesday’s Bulls/Pacers game on ESPN had 2.0 million viewers — the smallest audience of the young season, but up a whopping 84% from Sixers/Hornets last year (1.1M). The Mavericks/Thunder nightcap attracted 2.1 million, up 61% from last year’s comparable Spurs/Clippers game (1.3M).
The Thursday night Clippers/Heat game drew 2.4 million on TNT, up 30% from Thunder/Bulls last year (1.9M). Later in the night, Lakers/Rockets drew 2.3 million, up 65% from Clippers/Blazers last year (1.4M).
By comparison, three of the five Opening Week games that could be compared to last season had declines, including double-digit decreases for ESPN’s season-opening doubleheader (Heat/Nets and Spurs/Lakers).
