The first of five-straight split NBA doubleheaders on ABC and ESPN was a mixed bag in the ratings.
ABC averaged a 1.0 rating and 1.64 million viewers for a Bulls-Knicks NBA regular season game Wednesday night, the first of five-straight Wednesday games on the network and the first weeknight NBA game on broadcast television since at least the days of CBS. The games were added to ABC due to the now-completed strikes by Hollywood writers and actors that have delayed the start of the television season.
The Knicks’ win increased 59% from Bucks-Raptors on ESPN the same January night last year (1.09M). (There were no ESPN/ABC games on the equivalent date of last season, December 28.) Nonetheless, it ranked ninth out of the 14 Wednesday games on ESPN/ABC this season.
Bulls-Knicks was the first half of an overlapping, split-network doubleheader. The Heat-Lakers nightcap averaged just 978,000 viewers on ESPN, down 12% from the same matchup on the same night last year — when neither LeBron James nor Anthony Davis played due to injury (1.11M) — and the least-watched game involving James since 2013, when ESPN added Sixers-Heat opposite the men’s Final Four due to Miami’s 27-game winning streak (638K).
The full doubleheader averaged 1.30 million, up 23% from the same date last year (1.06M) but the least-watched “NBA Wednesday” on ESPN/ABC since November 1 opposite the World Series (1.27M).
The NBA games were the most-watched sporting events of the day. Placing third, a Clemson-Miami men’s college basketball game — elevated to ESPN to fill the vacancy left by Bulls-Knicks — averaged 471,000 viewers. An overlapping Louisville-Virginia game on ESPN2 was close behind at 420,000. Both games soared over the only ESPN matchup in the same window last year, Iowa State-Oklahoma on ESPN2 (266K).
In other college action, BTN scored 373,000 for Indiana-Nebraska and 245,000 for Rutgers-Ohio State — up 145% and 8% respectively from last year (Illinois-Northwestern: 153K; Penn State-Michigan: 226K).
Shifting to the NHL, Devils-Capitals averaged 358,000 on TNT — down 10% from New Jersey against the Red Wings a year ago (399K).
Rounding out the live sports action, a high school football All-American Game averaged 274,000 viewers on ESPN. (“Around the Horn” and “Pardon the Interruption,” which were preempted by the game, averaged 337,000 and 526,000 respectively on ESPN2.) Compared to last year’s equivalent game, which aired on ESPN2, viewership increased 15% from 239,000.
Wednesday, January 3 sports viewership
Updated chart:
