2015 NBA All-Star Game Down Opposite Tough Competition

After a double-digit bump in the big market overnights, national ratings were flat for the NBA All-Star Game.

The 2015 NBA All-Star Game drew a 4.3 rating and 7.2 million viewers on TNT and TBS Sunday night, according to Nielsen fast-nationals — flat in ratings and down 4% in viewership from last year opposite the Olympics (4.3, 7.5M) and down 7% and 10%, respectively, from 2013 (4.6, 8.0M). The game aired on TNT alone in previous years.

The relatively soft national numbers marked a turnaround from the overnights, which were up 12% (from 4.9 to 5.5). A stronger-than-usual performance in host market New York — where the game earned an 8.8 rating, the highest ever for an All-Star Weekend telecast on Turner Sports — likely gave the overnights a disproportionate boost.

The All-Star Game faced hefty competition from the Saturday Night Live anniversary special on NBC, which outperformed last year’s comparable Olympics telecast by 8% in the overnights (14.2 to 13.2). Final ratings and viewership for the special were not immediately available.

This year marked the fourth time in six years — and the fifth time in the past decade — that the All-Star Game has aired opposite a highly rated special (the Olympics in 2006, 2010 and 2014, the Oscars in 2012, and the SNL special). In each of those years, the game has had fewer viewers than the year before.

Compared to other All-Star events, the NBA game ranked behind both last year’s MLB All-Star Game (7.0, 11.3M) and last month’s Pro Bowl (5.1, 8.8M). The gap between the Pro Bowl and the NBA game swelled from 2% in the overnights (5.6 to 5.5) to 19% in the final tally (5.1 to 4.3).

Ratings in the adults 18-49 demographic were not immediately available. Last year’s game had a 3.3. If this year’s game drew the same number, it would top the recent MLB and NFL games in the demo (3.2 for both).

Ratings/Viewership For the NBA All-Star Game, Past Decade

(Sun. numbers from Turner Sports)