NBC wanted to eventize NBA Tip-Off and get audiences excited for the start of another NBA season. It appears they succeeded.
Tuesday’s Philadelphia 76ers-New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder-San Antonio Spurs doubleheader was the NBA’s most-watched opening night ever, averaging 6.41 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, according to Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel and Adobe Analytics.
The previous NBA Tip-Off doubleheader record was 5.7 million viewers in 2010 on TBS and TNT, which marked LeBron James’ Miami Heat debut against the Celtics. Clearly, anytime you can showcase James’s first game with a new team, it has paid off.
The 76ers’ 106-100 win over the Knicks was the league’s most-watched primetime opening-night game ever, averaging 7.71 million viewers and peaking at 9.1 million at 9:45 p.m. ET. That’s up 32% from last year’s early primetime game (5.9 million for Rockets-Thunder) and up 5% from the previous high of 7.3 million for Miami Heat-Boston Celtics in 2010 on TBS and TNT. The appeal of the Knicks celebrating their first championship since 1973, coupled with James’s Philly debut, made for a no-brainer ratings win.
Thunder-Spurs averaged 4.8 million viewers, making it the second most-watched late primetime NBA Tip-Off game ever, behind last year’s Golden State Warriors-Los Angeles Lakers game on NBC and Peacock (5.1 million).
The primetime games were helped out by a strong showing from the NBA Tip-Off afternoon game lead-in. The Celtics-Pistons matchup averaged 2.5 million viewers, despite complaints that some viewers’ local affiliates weren’t showing the game on the main NBC channel. NBC says that makes it the most-watched weekday afternoon regular-season game outside of a holiday.
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