Ratings Double as NBA Returns with Doubleheader

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
last updated

3.4 million viewers tune in on TNT

LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers dribbles the ball against Reggie Jackson #1 of the LA Clippers of the game at The Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on July 30, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
(Image credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

The return of the NBA drew double the viewership games on TNT had been drawing before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down live sports.

Thursday night’s doubleheader drew an average of 3.4 million viewers, up 109% from the average viewership this season before the stoppage.

Viewing peaked at 9:45 p.m.-10 p.m. ET during the second game of the double header when 4.1 million people watched the L.A. Lakers and L.A. Clippers. 

Related: Sports Fans Support Black Lives Matter: Nielsen Study

The first game featured the Utah Jazz and the New Orleans Pelicans.

Turner Sports’ Inside the NBA racked up its highest viewership since the start of the 2018-19 season, averaging 1.3 million viewers. That’s up 101% from earlier telecasts this season.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.