With a lackluster dunk contest anchoring a forgettable evening, NBA All-Star Saturday Night ratings were the lowest in years.
NBA All-Star Saturday Night had a 2.6 rating and 4.66 million viewers on TNT, down 13% in ratings and 17% in viewership from last year (3.0, 5.6M) and down 19% and 17% respectively from 2016 (3.2, 5.6M).
Compared to the last year it faced the Winter Olympics, 2014, ratings fell 16% (from 3.1) and viewership 18% (from 5.7M).
The 2.6 rating is the lowest for the Saturday night festivities since at least 2001. The previous low was a 2.8 in 2002. The TV audience was the smallest since 2005 (4.59M) and the second-smallest since 2001 (4.4M).
Ratings and viewership for All-Star Saturday Night have declined in three straight years.
Saturday’s telecast had a 2.1 rating in adults 18-49, down 13% from last year (2.4) and down 20% from 2016 (2.6). Excluding the Olympics, it tied the second-highest demo rating of the weekend — matching the Daytona 500 and behind the actual NBA All-Star Game (3.3).
In adults 18-34, the telecast had a 2.05 rating (-14%).
Earlier in the evening, a “Players Only” interview between Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant drew a 1.0 and 1.65 million. There was no comparable special last year, but viewership slipped 2% from a TNT pregame show in the same window (1.68M). Finally, the NBA Talent Challenge drew a 0.43 and 656,000 (-29%).
In other All-Star Weekend action, Friday’s Celebrity Game had a 1.1 (flat) and 1.7 million (-1%) on ESPN, marking that event’s smallest audience since 2008 (1.6M). The Rising Stars Challenge bucked the downward trend with a 0.9 (+29%) and 1.4 million (+21%) on TNT, its largest audience since 2015 (1.6M).
