ESPN’s NBA Games Average 2.6 Million Viewers, Up 35%, for Second-Best Start Since 2002

The surge comes in the first season of the NBA’s 11-year rights deal that expands exposure across ESPN, NBC and Prime Video.

Overview

ESPN averaged 2.6 million viewers across its first 21 regular-season games through Christmas, a 35% jump from last year.
This is ESPN’s second-most-watched start to a full NBA season, trailing only the 2010–11 opening stretch.
Viewership gains included notable demographic increases, up 47% among women and 37% among Hispanic audiences.
ESPN’s “Inside the NBA” is averaging 1.2 million viewers in its first season on the network, a 135% rise versus last year’s regular-season average on TNT.
The Christmas Day edition of “Inside the NBA” drew 5.1 million viewers, the show’s most-watched regular-season audience, and “NBA Today” is up 26% to 361,000 viewers.