As the second half of the NBA season gets underway, LeBron James and the Cavaliers remain the league’s dominant draw.
The Cavaliers played in five of the seven most-watched NBA games entering the All-Star break, with Cavaliers/Heat on Christmas Day easily the top draw (9.3M). Excluding Christmas games, the Cavaliers have played in five of the six-most watched telecasts and 7 of the top 11.
Of the 16 nationally televised Cavaliers games that can be compared to last year, 15 have had increases in viewership. 14 of those 15 have had double-digit increases, with six up by more than a third.
Outside of Cleveland, the NBA’s TV picture has been less impressive. Of the 63 non-Cavaliers games that can be compared to last year, 49 have had declines and only 14 have had increases. Excluding comparisons to last year’s Heat games, 37 of 51 games have declined.
The Lakers and Warriors have moved the needle more than any team other than the Cavaliers, each generating four year-over-year increases this season. The Clippers, Thunder and Rockets have each generated three.
Overall, the Cavaliers rank as the most-watched team on national TV this year, averaging approximately 2.8 million viewers over 18 telecasts. That is down 14% from what Heat games were averaging through the All-Star break last year (3.3M).
The Thunder rank as the second-most watched team, with approximately 2.4 million, and the Heat rank third with just under 2.4 million. The Spurs (2.2M), Knicks (2.1M) and Lakers (2.1M) round out the top six.
