Not surprisingly, the absence of Derrick Rose has had a negative impact on ratings for the Chicago Bulls. In other news, the Lakers and Knicks dominated their intracity rivals — the Clippers and Nets, respectively — during the first half of the season, and the Thunder had yet another massive increase in Oklahoma City.
Bulls TV Ratings Down During First Half
- With Derrick Rose sidelined due to injury, Chicago Bulls games averaged a 3.37 rating on Comcast SportsNet Chicago during the first half of the season — down 43% from last year at the All-Star break (5.92), and down 18% from the first half of the 2010-11 season (4.09). The 3.37 average still tops the midseason average during the 2009-10 season (2.5), the last year the Bulls did not finish with the top seed in the East. After trouncing the Blackhawks 5.81 to 3.11 last season, the Bulls currently trail their NHL counterparts by 35% (5.05 to 3.37). (Bulls avg. from Comcast)
Knicks and Lakers Still Dominating Intracity Rivals
- In New York and Los Angeles, the Knicks and Lakers are still far and away the top television attractions. During the first half of the NBA season, the Lakers averaged a 4.3 rating on Time Warner Cable SportsNet in L.A., topping the Clippers’ 1.5 average on Fox Sports Prime Ticket by 187%. Meanwhile, the Knicks averaged a 3.4 on MSG Network in N.Y. — more-than-triple the Nets’ 1.1 on YES Network. (Sports Business Journal)
Thunder TV Ratings Skyrocket
- The Oklahoma City Thunder averaged an 8.6 rating on Fox Sports Oklahoma through the NBA All-Star break, up 44% from last season (6.0), up 207% from the 2010-11 season (2.8), and the top local average in the NBA. Due to the small size of the Oklahoma City market, the Thunder averaged fewer homes (62K) than the Knicks (254K), Lakers (235K), Bulls (115K) and Heat (92K), among others. (Sports Business Journal)
(Blackhawks’ TV average for first 11 games; via chicagobusiness.com)
