Rumors of the NBA’s viewership demise have been greatly exaggerated. As the regular season carries on, the NBA has narrowed the gap on its year-over-year viewership decline. According to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, the league’s viewership has declined just 1% across ABC, ESPN, and TNT compared to this point last year, with games on those three networks averaging 1.58 million viewers.
ABC, in particular, is helping lift the NBA out of its early-season hole. Per ESPN PR, NBA viewership on ABC is up 10% versus last season, delivering an average of 2.68 million viewers per game, significantly boosted by airing five games on Christmas Day this season, as opposed to just two last year. These numbers signify a near-complete turnaround from the NBA’s early-season viewership figures; prior to Christmas Day, viewership was down about 20% year-over-year. ABC’s three additional games helped erase that deficit almost instantly, with attention from events like the Luka Dončić trade contributing to the league drawing close to even.
Per Sports Media Watch, ABC’s NBA Saturday Primetime window is averaging 2.82 million viewers, slightly above the network’s overall average. Although this figure is down 10% from last year’s average of 3.13 million viewers, it’s worth noting that the NBA Cup Final aired on a Saturday night last season and on Tuesday this season. Meanwhile, ABC’s NBA Sunday Showcase is averaging 2.14 million viewers, which is down 1% year-over-year.
