NBA Ratings Heading into the All Star Break

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NBA viewership remains down compared to last year heading into All-Star Weekend

The news isn't all bad, though.

As SBJ points out, it’s not all bleak. Things have actually been trending up from the abysmal start to the season.

The NBA’s three biggest national TV partners have registered a double-digit viewer drop heading into All–Star weekend, according to SBJ’s Austin Karp. Games on ABC, ESPN and TNT are down 12% so far this season, virtually ensuring that the league will finish the 2019-20 regular season with a viewership drop for the second season in a row. ABC is down 16%, TNT is down 13% and ESPN is down 10% from the same point last season. ABC, in particular, was hurt by lower numbers on Christmas and a slower start for its Saturday night slate.

It’s hard to spin these numbers in a positive way, but we’re going to try. The 12% drop is an improvement over the 16% drop seen over the first month of the season. Viewership grew from November to December and again from December to January. The NBA story is better on digital. NBA League Pass subscriptions are up 11% globally vs. last season and unique viewership is up 25%. Streaming viewership via OTT services and internet connected devices also are seeing big increases: TNT is up 32% and ESPN is up 41%. In overall digital viewership, TNT is up 16% and ESPN is up 19%.

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