The NBA ratings surge continues unabated.
NBA regular season games have averaged 1.9 million viewers across ESPN and TNT through Thursday night, up 21% from last year (1.6M) and up 13% from 2015 (1.7M).
ESPN alone has averaged 1.8 million (+30%), its second-best start to a season since acquiring NBA rights fifteen years ago.* The 2010-11 season, LeBron James‘ first with the Miami Heat, holds the top spot. ESPN Nielsen ratings now include streaming viewership on TV devices; comparisons are to last year’s TV-only numbers.
Ten of the last 11 NBA windows on ESPN and TNT have increased over last year, with eight of those up by at least 30 percent.
Last Friday, the triple-overtime Thunder-Sixers game had a 1.2 rating and 1.9 million viewers on ESPN, up 71% in ratings and 74% in viewership from Lakers-Sixers last year (0.7, 1.1M) and up 8% and 12% respectively from Clippers-Spurs in 2015 (1.15, 1.7M).
The Spurs-Rockets nightcap had a 1.2 (+85%) and 1.9 million (+82%).
On TNT last night, Celtics-Knicks had 1.8 million viewers and Spurs-Jazz 1.3 million, up 128% and 30% respectively from last year’s doubleheader of Lakers-Heat (770K) and Spurs-Clippers (975K). Last night’s games faced NFL Thursday Night Football, while this year’s games had no such competition.
The good times have not been limited to ESPN and TNT. NBA TV scored consecutive season-highs earlier this week, with Warriors-Lakers scoring 622,000 viewers on Monday night and Cavaliers-Bucks 704,000 on Tuesday. The latter game increased 52% over last year (Spurs-Rockets: 462K).
NBA TV also scored 586,000 for Lakers-Rockets on Wednesday night (+52%), 322,000 for Celtics-Pacers on Monday (+94%), and 449,000 for Thunder-Knicks — Carmelo Anthony‘s return to New York — last Saturday.
* Excludes the 2011-12 lockout season, which began on Christmas Day.
[Numbers from ESPN, Programming Insider 12.20, ShowBuzz Daily 12.19, 12.20, 12.21, 12.22]
