The viewership story for the NBA so far this season has not been a positive one.
After a slight increase during Opening Night, and some one-off games seeing year-over-year increases, the overall trend in NBA viewership is pointing down. Both games of ESPN’s Wednesday night doubleheader saw year-over-year declines approaching 50%.
The Chicago Bulls-Milwaukee Bucks game that started ESPN’s doubleheader Wednesday averaged 1.22 million viewers per Programming Insider, a 40% decline from last year’s comparable game between the Bucks and Boston Celtics. As noted by Sports Media Watch, last year’s equivalent game came the night before Thanksgiving, traditionally a higher viewership night for the NBA.
The nightcap did not fare much better for ESPN. The New York Knicks-Phoenix Suns game on Wednesday drew just 1.06 million viewers, down a whopping 47% from last year’s matchup between the Suns and Golden State Warriors.
There have been some bright moments for the NBA, however. The first night of the Emirates NBA Cup earlier this month saw massive viewership gains for a doubleheader featuring Klay Thompson’s return to Golden State and Joel Embiid’s season debut. Perhaps it’s a sign that the league’s strategy regarding an in-season competition is working, but possibly at the expense of other regular season games.
Nevertheless, there’s plenty of season to go. And with the NBA airing all five of its Christmas Day games on ABC this season (as opposed to two last year), a year-over-year increase is still firmly in the realm of possibility.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.