For the second time in a week, the pairing of LeBron James and Zion Williamson scored in the ratings.
Sunday’s Lakers-Pelicans NBA regular season game averaged a 1.7 rating and 2.69 million viewers on ESPN, trailing only Blazers-Lakers on January 31 (2.6, 4.41M) and Celtics-Raptors on Christmas (1.8, 3.32M) as the network’s top game of the season.*
Across all networks, the Lakers’ win ranks 12th for the season. The team has now played in 15 of the top 23 games this season. Notably, the Pelicans have played in seven of the top 24, more than any non-Laker team.
The game marked the second meeting between James and Williamson. The first, which took place just five days earlier, averaged a 1.5 and 2.24 million on TNT — ranking among that network’s top five games this season.
Lakers-Pelicans was the second-most watched sporting event of the weekend, trailing NASCAR on FOX earlier in the day (2.9, 4.79M). It took top honors in adults 18-34 (0.8) and 18-49 (1.0), tying ABC’s American Idol for the lead among all television programs in the former.
The good times did not extend to ABC, which averaged a 1.2 and 1.87 million for Sixers-Clippers Sunday afternoon — down 27% in ratings and 26% in viewership from its third Sunday window last year (Rockets-Celtics: 1.7, 2.52M).
The previous night, Rockets-Celtics averaged a 1.5 and 2.35 million on NBA Saturday Primetime — down 32% in ratings and 35% in viewership from ABC’s sixth Saturday night game last year (Warriors-Sixers: 2.2, 3.63M) and down 21% and 26% respectively from the same matchup in 2018 (Celtics-Rockets: 1.9, 3.19M).
Houston’s overtime win was the most-watched non-Laker NBA game since Zion Williamson’s debut in January (2.36M).
In other action, ESPN averaged a 0.7 (-22%) and 1.12 million (-23%) for the Bucks’ 47-point rout of the Thunder Friday night and a 0.7 (-36%) and 1.08 million (-38%) for the Nuggets-Clippers nightcap.
* Excludes Clippers-Lakers on Christmas, which aired on both ABC and ESPN. While the game combined for a 4.6 and 8.76 million, the ESPN portion had a 1.0 and 1.77 million.
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 3.3]
