The NBA ratings surge has cooled a bit in recent days, but the league continues to trend above last year by double-digits.
On Tuesday, Cavaliers-Spurs had a 1.3 rating and 2.0 million viewers in the premiere of TNT’s “Players Only” — up 117% and 105% respectively from the network’s first Players Only telecast last year, Knicks-Pacers on a Monday night (976K).
The Celtics-Lakers nightcap scored a 1.0 and 1.5 million. There was no comparable window last year.
TNT also posted big increases for its Thursday night doubleheader. Wizards-Thunder scored 1.6 million (+26%) and T’Wolves-Warriors 1.8 million (+73%). Ratings were not immediately available.
ESPN was not as fortunate. The network had a 0.85 (-27%) and 1.28 million (-31%) for Rockets-Mavericks and a 0.86 (flat) and 1.25 million (-7%) for Celtics-Clippers on Wednesday night. Entering Friday night, five of the network’s last six games have declined. Not coincidentally, those six games have involved low-tier teams such as the Clippers, Pistons, Jazz and Dallas.
ESPN Nielsen ratings include streaming viewership on television and are compared to last year’s TV-only numbers.
[Numbers via Programming Insider 1.24, 1.25; ShowBuzz Daily, 1.26]
