Like the actual NBA All-Star Game, the All-Star Saturday night festivities were a mixed bag in the Nielsens.
NBA All-Star Saturday Night had a 3.0 final rating and 5.7 million viewers on TNT last weekend, down 6% in ratings (from 3.2 to 3.0) but up 1% in viewership (from 5.59M to 5.63M) compared to last year, and down 12% and 7% respectively from 2015 (3.4, 6.1M).
The 3.0 rating is the lowest for NBA All-Star Saturday Night since 2006 (2.9), falling below the previous mark of 3.1 for 2010, 2008 and 2007. Viewership, though up slightly, was the second-lowest since 2010 (5.4M).
In the previously released fast-nationals, viewership peaked at 6.8 million from 9:45-10 PM ET — during the first round of the dunk contest. Last year’s viewership peaked a 7.0 million from 10:15-10:30 and the 2015 telecast peaked with 7.8 million from 10:45-11.
Cleveland led all markets for the Saturday night festivities with a 7.5 rating, followed by New York (5.4) and the Bay Area (5.3). Las Vegas (5.0) and Washington D.C. (4.9) rounded out the top five.
The mixed results for NBA All-Star Saturday Night mirrored that of Sunday’s actual game. All-Star Game ratings hit a seven-year low, but viewership was the highest since 2013.
Despite the lower numbers, All-Star Saturday Night still earned a larger audience than last year’s MLB Home Run Derby (5.5M) — though the Derby had a higher rating (3.2).
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 2.22)
