The hits keep coming for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game. Not only did the event prove to be a critical disaster, but it also took a hit commercially. According to Sports Media Watch, and first reported by Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel, Sunday night’s exhibition drew an average of 4.718 million viewers across TNT/TBS/TruTV, marking a 13 percent decline from the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, which had an average of 5.398 million viewers. As Glasspiegel noted, the NBA All-Star Game’s double-digit drop is especially notable when factoring in Nielsen’s new measurement strategy, which has largely favored high-profile sporting events. Recently, Nielsen played a role in Fox claiming the most-watched Super Bowl in history, despite it being an uncompetitive Philadelphia Eagles blowout victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
NBA All-Star Game viewership was down 13% vs last year.
2025 – 4.718M viewers across TNT/TBS/TruTV
2024 – 5.398MNote that Nielsen recently boosted OOH ratings and the Super Bowl set a record despite not being a close game.
— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) February 19, 2025
Glasspiegel’s Front Office Sports colleague, Colin Salao, noted that the viewership figure is the second-least watched NBA All-Star Game in league history, narrowly edging out the 2023 event. Furthermore, Sports Media Watch observed that it was the fourth most-watched NBA game of the season, trailing three nationally televised Christmas Day games, and the highest-rated show on all of television on Sunday night among viewers under the age of 35. Despite the shift in Nielsen tracking, it’s not surprising that this year’s NBA All-Star Game rating would decline. Factors contributing to this include the event’s recent trajectory, mixed reactions to the new format, and the late news about LeBron James’ absence, compounded by stiff competition from the Daytona 500 running late due to weather delays and the highly anticipated Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special.
Conversely, TNT also didn’t help its case with a broadcast that featured significantly more commercial airtime than game action. Despite the league’s best efforts, it’s evident that this new format didn’t resonate with viewers, leading to the fact that revisions are already under consideration. The silver lining? Next year’s viewership is expected to improve as the NBA All-Star Game moves to broadcast television on NBC. However, as this year’s results indicate, it’s not a guaranteed advantage for the league when it comes to ratings.
