The NBA regular-season ratings for the 2024-25 season experienced a 2% dip in viewership compared to the previous year, aligning closely with a similar 2% decline observed in the NFL's 2024 regular-season ratings.
The information comes from reports analyzing viewership trends across major sports leagues. Below is a detailed breakdown of the NBA’s ratings performance, contributing factors, and comparisons with the NFL, based on available data.
🏀NBA Regular-Season Ratings Overview
Viewership Numbers: The 2024-25 NBA regular season averaged approximately 1.56 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, and TNT, a 2% decrease from the 1.59 million viewers in the 2023-24 season. Including NBA TV, the overall viewership was down 5%, with an average of 1.09 million viewers compared to 1.08 million the previous year.
Network Performance: ABC: A bright spot, with a 10% increase in viewership, averaging 2.68 million viewers across 24 games, boosted by 24 simulcasts with ESPN.
- ESPN: Games airing exclusively on ESPN saw a 7% decline, though overall ESPN networks remained flat due to simulcasts with ABC.
- TNT: Viewership dropped by 8%, contributing significantly to the overall decline.
- NBA TV: Showed a 15% increase, averaging 330,000 viewers across 107 games, which helped offset some losses on the main networks.
Season Context: The season started poorly, with ratings down 28% on ESPN and 3% on TNT through mid-November, attributed to competition from the World Series, the presidential election, and a lack of compelling storylines. However, a post-Christmas surge, including a 71% increase in viewership for the Emirates NBA Cup’s opening night, helped stabilize numbers.
NFL Viewership: The NFL’s 2024 regular season averaged 17.5 million viewers per game across 118 TV windows, down 2% from the previous year, equating to a loss of about 400,000 viewers per game. This dip was less severe than the 8% decline during the 2016 election year.
Network Trends:
- CBS: Led with 19.2 million viewers, down 1%, maintaining dominance in Sunday afternoon national windows (24.3 million vs. Fox’s 23.9 million).
- Fox: Down 3%, averaging 18.4 million viewers, impacted by a higher point differential (blowouts) in games.
- NBC: Gained 1%, averaging 21.6 million for Sunday Night Football, the best since 2015.
- Amazon Prime Video: Thursday Night Football rose 11%, averaging 13.2 million viewers, appealing to a younger, wealthier demographic (median age 49, household income $101,800).
ESPN: Monday Night Football dropped 14%, partly due to fewer ABC simulcasts, but still posted its second-best viewership since 2006.
Contributing Factors to the NBA’s Ratings Dip
- Cord-Cutting: A significant factor, with cable penetration at 38% of U.S. TV households and overall pay-TV reach at 54%. Declining primetime TV usage (down 10% overall) impacted all sports.
- Competition: Early-season NBA ratings suffered due to the World Series and the 2024 presidential election, which drew significant viewership. NFL games, particularly high-profile matchups, also competed for attention.
- Game Volume and Perception: The NBA’s 82-game season (vs. the NFL’s 17-game season) leads to viewer saturation, with some analysts arguing that regular-season games lack stakes. Load management, where stars rest, and a perceived lack of rivalries or continuity (e.g., frequent player trades, uniform changes) have been criticized.
For further details, see reports from Front Office Sports (https://frontofficesports.com) or Sports Media Watch
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