The NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament has reportedly attracted remarkable viewership. The league’s national media partners have seen an outstanding change in their ratings. However, the results are positive as compared to the regular season last year.
According to Awful Announcing via Sports Business Journal, six ESPN games of the tournament are accumulating a collective viewership of 1.58 million.
This is resulting in a 24% increase as compared to the five regular season games played on Friday. On TNT, four tournament games played on Tuesday are posting an average viewership of 1.32 million. Resulting in a 7% increase as compared to last year’s average Tuesday night November games.
However, the NBA season has also collected a 12% increase in national viewership during the initial games.
The increase in viewership, however, is not gigantic enough to garner major attention but it is a start for the league and the numbers are compelling. The NBA In-Season Tournament received some initial criticism; however, it has been attracting attention and positive views from NBA fans.
The concluding days of group play saw the Miami Heat against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Sacramento Kings against the Golden State Warriors. They aired on TNT.
The quarterfinals will be played on December 4th and 5th and the semifinals will be played on December 7th. The championship match will be played on December 9th.
Four quarterfinal games and a single semifinal game will be aired on the network, TNT. The other semifinal will air on ESPN and the final game will be played on ABC.
