The mood is especially good in Disney today, as reports show NBA games airing on ESPN and ABC have increased viewership figures compared to last season.
The company reported that viewership across ESPN and ABC is up 16 percent from last season, according to data provided by Nielsen. The game broadcasts are averaging 1,712,000 viewers, compared to 1,469,000 last year.
In the key P18-34 demo, game viewership is up 26 percent. Viewership is also up 37 percent amongst Hispanic viewers from this time last season.
In addition, NBA Countdown, the company’s NBA pregame show, is averaging 664,000 viewers, its highest pre-Christmas audience average since 2018, which is up three percent from last year.
The ratings boon could be spurred on by the In-Season Tournament, which provided several high ratings nights for the league and its broadcast partners. Earlier this month, ESPN reported that the In-Season Tournament championship game reached a peak of almost 5.7 million viewers, while opening-round play boosted ratings by 35 percent compared to average NBA Fridays from last year.
