ESPN has had one of its most-viewed starts to the NBA regular season since it started to carry games in 2002.
According to the network and Nielsen, ESPN averaged 2.6 million viewers in its first 21 games through Christmas, a 35% increase from last season and the second-most-watched in a full season. The numbers for this season trail only 2010-11.
The NBA announced last week that more than 47 million people in the U.S. watched at least some of the five-game Christmas slate on ABC and ESPN, which represents a 45% increase over last year. There was an average of 5.5 million viewers for the games, up 4% from a year ago.
Viewership overall this season is up 47% among women and 37% among Hispanic audiences. This is the first year of the NBA’s 11-year media rights deal with ESPN, NBC and Prime Video.
ESPN’s NBA studio shows have also experienced increased viewership. «Inside the NBA» is averaging 1.2 million in its first season on ESPN, up 135% compared to last year’s regular-season average on TNT. The Christmas Day edition averaged 5.1 million, the show’s most-watched regular season audience.
«NBA Today,» ESPN’s weekday studio show, is averaging 361,000, a 26% increase from this time last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
