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[Saba Sports News] After a strong opening night, NBA viewership saw a notable drop in the first week, raising concerns as ESPN and TNT reported declines across nearly all national broadcasts.
This was surprising given the league’s rising popularity and promising storylines. TNT’s opening night games had shown a 6% rise in viewership, but ESPN’s midweek doubleheader averaged only 1.6 million viewers, a 42% decline from last year’s debut games.
Wednesday’s Bucks-76ers game drew 1.71 million viewers—well below last year’s Celtics-Knicks game at 2.55 million. The following Suns-Clippers game suffered a 49% drop.
Thursday’s Spurs-Mavericks game brought only 1.45 million viewers, a 29% dip, while Friday’s Pacers-Knicks game saw just 830,000 viewers, trailing even a college football game on ESPN2.
Competing sports events like the World Series opener and college football contributed to the NBA’s early-season struggles. However, the league remains optimistic, expecting a boost with all five Christmas Day games airing on ABC for the first time.
As the season continues, the NBA aims to regain viewers through key matchups, holiday programming, and greater reach on major networks.