Competition from the World Series led to the NBA’s worst Opening Night in nearly a decade.
TNT averaged a 1.5 rating and 2.3 million viewers for the NBA’s Opening Night doubleheader, down 48% in ratings and 49% in viewership from last year (2.9, 4.5M) and down 53% and 52%, respectively, from 2012 (3.2, 4.8M). The Opening Night games aired opposite the World Series for the first time since 2001.
The 1.5 average rating is tied as the lowest for NBA Opening Night since 2005 (1.3), matching 2007 (1.5). Those three years each have in common a San Antonio Spurs ring ceremony. Overall, the 1.5 is tied as the third-lowest for Opening Night in the past decade, ahead of only 2005 and 2004 — when coverage aired opposite the presidential election (1.1).
Mavericks/Spurs drew 2.3 million viewers in the early window, down 57% from both Bulls/Heat last year and Celtics/Heat in 2012 (5.4M both years). The Rockets/Lakers nightcap drew 2.4 million, down 32% from Clippers/Lakers sans Kobe Bryant last year (3.6M) and down 44% from Mavericks/Lakers in 2012 (4.3M).
The declines extended to studio coverage. TNT’s hour-long pregame show dropped 43% (from 1.9M to 1.1M) and was outdrawn by a half-hour College Football Countdown — debuting the new college football playoff rankings — on ESPN (1.4M). Inside the NBA drew 997,000, down a third from last year’s 1.5 million.
The last time NBA Opening Night aired opposite the World Series, 2001, Wizards/Knicks drew 3.9 million viewers on TBS. Keep in mind that game generated more attention than usual due to the return of Wizards G Michael Jordan. Viewership was not available for the second half of that doubleheader, which pitted the Blazers against the Lakers.
(Tue. numbers from twitter.com/turnersportspr [1], [2]; additional info from TV By the Numbers)
