NBA ratings continue to surge ahead of last year, but not by as much as before.
Viewership was mixed for midweek action. On TNT Thursday, Rockets-Spurs posted a 0.95 rating and 1.44 million viewers — flat in ratings and down 2% in viewership from last year (Hawks-Rockets: 0.95, 1.47M). The Nuggets-Thunder nightcap scored a 0.9 and 1.3 million, down 39% and 43% respectively, with the caveat that last year’s game featured Golden State (Warriors-Clippers: 1.45, 2.4M).
ESPN was mixed on Wednesday. Knicks-Celtics had a 1.0 and 1.5 million (+4%), but the low-wattage Mavericks-Suns nightcap had a 0.7 (-22%) and 968,000 (-34%).
Tuesday brought a pair of increases on TNT’s Players Only. Cavaliers-Pistons scored a 0.95 and 1.4 million (+26%), while the Blazers-Clippers nightcap had a 0.7 and 996,000 (+16%). Keep in mind last year’s Players Only doubleheader — Pistons-Celtics (1.1M) and Grizzlies-Suns (860K) — aired on a Monday night.
Mavericks-Suns and Blazers-Clippers were just the fifth and sixth NBA games this season with fewer than one million viewers. At the same point last season, 12 games had fallen below the million mark.
