The NBA’s opening night doubleheader on TNT last Tuesday saw a seven percent increase compared to the previous year. However, the following two nights had disappointing ratings. The NBA was fortunate to not have to go up against Game 7 of the NLCS this year, and also featured several big market teams. The highlight was LeBron James playing alongside his son, Bronny James, for the first time.
On Wednesday, the doubleheader with the Milwaukee Bucks playing the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns facing the Los Angeles Clippers had an average of 1.6 million viewers, which was a 42 percent decrease from 2023. The absence of key players like Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard affected the games. However, the overall average viewership for the two games was five percent higher than in 2022, which saw a boost thanks to Victor Wembanyama’s NBA debut.
The Thursday night game’s viewership was down by 29 percent compared to 2023. The NBA recently signed an 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal over the summer.
