The first night of the new NBA season didn’t tell a simple story with its audience. There was good and bad for the league. Not ideal when seeking nearly $75 billion in new media rights deals.
In chronological order, TNT’s broadcast of the Milwaukee Bucks’ win over the Brooklyn Nets was the bad news. According to Sports Media Watch, the game is the least-watched NBA opener since 2007. It drew just 2.16 million viewers.
That number is down 20% from last year’s opener, which featured the Nets and the Warriors. Remember, the 2020-21 NBA season began in December. It is also down 4% from 2019, when the opener featured the Pelicans and Raptors.
The good news came in the second half of the doubleheader. The Warriors and Lakers drew an audience of 3.3 million. That is up 10% from the back half of last season’s opening night doubleheader between the Lakers and Clippers.
Star power definitely helped the nightcap. It was the second most-watched meeting of LeBron James and Steph Curry since 2018. Only last year’s play-in game drew a larger audience. It is a rivalry that has been missing in recent years as James and Curry have taken turns missing significant time due to injury.
Both games fell short of Major League Baseball on Tuesday Night. The NLCS matchup between the Dodgers and Braves drew the largest sports audience of the night with 4.36 million viewers.
