Are basketball fans really interested in the NBA’s Summer League, in which there are a few rookies and young veterans that will make it to the opening day roster?? If NBA TV’s record-setting ratings are any indication, the answer to that question is pretty clear. NBA TV averaged 110,000 viewers for their Summer League coverage, a number which represents an impressive 9% growth compared to last year.
NBA TV has a ton of positives to point to from this year’s Summer League coverage, but perhaps the most impressive is the fact they drew their largest audience for a Summer League game telecast (277,000 total viewers) and had their most-watched Championship game ever (144,000 total viewers).
Another noteworthy tidbit is that day viewership of Summer League grew by 7%.
Overall, the NBA’s Summer League gave basketball fans what they wanted – basketball – at a time where the new NBA season still feels far off. The Summer League will never be a ratings goliath, but the numbers above illustrates that fans are looking for the sport and are happy to watch regardless of just how much meaning the games really have. Any live sports is better than no live sports.
