ESPN and ABC’s coverage of the 2023 NBA Draft paid massive dividends. The Worldwide Leader boasted on Friday that Thursday night’s event became the most-watched NBA Draft on any network.
“The 2023 edition of the NBA Draft Presented By State Farm was the most-watched NBA Draft ever on any network – according to Nielsen,” ESPN wrote in a press release. They continued: “The first round averaged 4,928,000 viewers across ESPN and ABC, up 24 percent from last year’s first round on both platforms. It peaked with 6,085,000 viewers in the 8 p.m. ET quarter hour.”
ShowBuzzDaily charted the Draft in its top 3 spots on Thursday’s Top 50 most-watched cable rankings. They averaged roughly 1.7 million on ESPN, with the 8 p.m. window winning the night with an average of 2,717,000 viewers.
The press release also read that, on average, they showed a 23 percent uptick in year-over-year ratings growth for the Draft.
“Overall, the NBA Draft averaged 3,743,000 viewers across ESPN (both rounds) and ABC (first round-only),” they also added.
This can’t be construed as anything but a victory for ESPN and the NBA. While coverage of the event received some criticism for its banalness, it obviously did plenty enough to be a hit with the audience that tuned in on Thursday night.
It will be interesting to see how the 2024 NBA Draft fares. This year’s Draft was undoubtedly boosted with Victor Wembanyama in the fold. Next year’s class may not feature that star power, though Bronny James Jr. could loom too.
[ESPN]
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022