A battle between two of the biggest stars in all of sports gave TNT the most viewed NBA game on cable in four years.
The Lakers’ win over the Cavaliers on Monday, featuring Kobe Bryant against LeBron James, drew a 2.3 U.S. rating and 3.7 million viewers on TNT. The 3.7 million viewers is the most for a regular season NBA game on cable since 2004.
The 3.7 million viewers is especially impressive considering that the game began at 10:30 PM ET, and followed a very uncompetitive Suns/Celtics telecast.
Spurred by Cavaliers/Lakers, TNT’s Martin Luther King Day tripleheader averaged a 1.4 rating and 2.2 million viewers, a 76% increase in viewership from 1.2 million for last year’s MLK Day games. Earlier in the day, the aforementioned Suns/Celtics game drew a 1.2 U.S. rating, while the late afternoon Pistons/Grizzlies tilt drew a 0.6.
For the season, TNT is averaging 1.6 million viewers for NBA coverage, up 11% from last year. Both TNT and ESPN have seen double-digit increases in viewership for NBA coverage this season.
