The much-anticipated NBA return of Luka Doncic to the floor at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, TX delivered a season-high for viewership on ESPN. Thursday’s figures revealed that the ESPN broadcast between the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers averaged 2.26 million viewers on the network, the largest viewership average for ESPN excluding the Christmas holiday broadcasts.
Interestingly, the viewership total for the contest was just short of doubling the Mavericks game against the Miami Heat at this point last year, which had 1.23 million average viewers.
With Doncic’s return and a Lakers win, the game peaked at 2.79 million average viewers. However, that number trailed the viewership total for the game following the deal that sent Doncic to LA from Dallas. That February matchup drew an average of 2.5 million viewers on TNT. For reference, Doncic’s return to Dallas wasn’t even the highest-viewed game for the Lakers in the past week, as last Thursday’s game against the Golden State Warriors averaged 2.5 million viewers on TNT.
When compared to other NBA returns of the league’s top superstars, Doncic’s return to Dallas falls slightly short. According to Sports Media Watch, it trails Anthony Davis’ return to New Orleans after he joined the Lakers in 2018, which averaged 2.34 million viewers on ESPN. Moreover, looking even earlier than Davis’ return to New Orleans, Doncic’s teammate LeBron James returned to Cleveland after joining the Lakers in 2018 and drew an impressive average viewership of 3.7 million on ESPN.
Meanwhile, The Walt Disney Company is set to begin a new 11-year media rights contract with the NBA. ESPN/ABC will continue to televise games throughout the regular season and playoffs. Additionally, the company will broadcast 11 iterations of the NBA Finals, along with 10 Conference Finals series through 2035. Furthermore, the company acquired the rights to launch a new studio show that features whiparound coverage of the league on game nights.
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