As much as many sports fans love to shovel dirt on the National Basketball Association, the league is still breathing.
The first week of the 2007-08 NBA season brought increased numbers to both TNT and ESPN, especially among the heavily prized 18-34 male demographic. ESPN is averaging a 1.5 rating through four games, even with 2006, while TNT is averaging a 1.4, up 1% from last year. Among men 18-34, ratings for games on ESPN and TNT are up 34% and 25% respectively, while the average among men 18-49 is up by a less substantial, but still impressive, margin.
While Chinese viewership does not factor into NBA television ratings, there is no doubt the league was pleased to have the Yao Ming/Yi Jianlian match-up draw an anticipated 200 million estimated viewers on Friday; the excitement in China over the game certainly bodes well for the NBA’s future Chinese ventures.
Viewers are not the only ones returning to the NBA this season; advertisers are buying into the league as well. No advertisers have left the league in the wake of the Tim Donaghy scandal, and “the number of ad units sold for the NBA telecasts this season so far are pacing double digits ahead of last year“.
Live attendance is also up from last year, despite disappointing results for teams like the New Orleans Hornets and Indiana Pacers. According to an NBA representative, “season ticket sales cumulatively for the [NBA’s] 30 teams are up between 8 percent and 9 percent this season.”
Whether this good start will continue throughout the season remains to be seen. And certainly, with teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat struggling, their nationally televised games may not be much of a ratings draw as the year progresses. Still, the league cannot complain about the start, especially as people were pronouncing it dead after the Donaghy gambling scandal broke last summer.
Link to Mediaweek article found via Fang’s Bites.
