Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game earned its smallest TV audience ever, suffering a 29% ratings drop and a 27% viewership decrease from 2022, according to Sports Media Watch.
The game, televised on TNT and TBS, averaged a combined 2.2 rating and 4.59 million viewers. That easily made it the lowest rated and least watched NBA All-Star Game.
The declines are the steepest for the annual event since 2000, when the game was the first after a one-year hiatus due to the 1998-99 NBA lockout.
The previous lows were a 3.1 rating (2021 and 2022) and 6.1 million viewers (2021).
The 2022 game had 6.28 million viewers.
The plunge places the NBA All-Star Game well behind this year’s NFL Pro Bowl, which drew 6.28 million across ESPN, ABC, and DisneyXD.
The NBA All-Star Game also ranks further behind the MLB All-Star Game (7.51 million), the leader in all-star viewership.
However, the NBA All-Star Game still ranks as the highest rated all-star game among adults 18-49 (1.8) and 18-34 (1.5).
This year’s game lacked some of the league’s best-known stars. Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry did not play due to a leg injury,
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, the leading vote-getters in each conference, left the game early.
Sunday’s Daytona 500 (4.4 rating, 8.17 million viewers) blew away the NBA All-Star Game overall, though the annual hoops affair outdrew the auto race in adults 18-49 (1.8 to 1.4) and 18-34 (1.5 to 0.8).
The NBA All-Star Game also was Sunday’s top television program in the 18-49 and 18-34 groups, and tied Daytona for the top spot in 25-54 (1.93).
Although the NBA All-Star Game declined, the hour leading up to the game, which included the NBA All-Star Draft, increased 10% from last year to 3.9 million viewers.
All-Star Weekend included several events. The only one that did not drop double-digits to a historic low was the Celebrity Game on ESPN, which increased 6% in ratings and 8% in viewership to a 0.75 and 1.40 million.
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Read the full article here
Discussion about this post