The 2011 NBA All-Star Game on TNT delivered 9.1 million total viewers, 6 million households and a 5.2 U.S. HH rating, along with strong growth across all key demos, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals.This year’s star-studded contest in Los Angeles ranks asthe most watched and highest rated game since 2003, which featured Michael Jordan’s final NBA All-Star appearance of his career. In addition, the 2011 NBA All-Star Game and All-Star Saturday Night presented by State Farm, which was the most watched in the event’s 26-year history, combined to average more than 17 million total viewers.
The 2011 NBA All-Star Game also posted strong growth over last year, an increase of +33% in total viewers (9,093,000 vs. 6,846,000), +36% in households (5,975,000 vs. 4,399,000) and +37% in U.S. HH rating (5.2 vs. 3.8 U.S. HH rating).
The network has also had tremendous growth in key adult and male demos compared to last year, including:
• +41% A18-34 (3,175,000 vs. 2,258,000)
• +38% A18-49 (5,226,000 vs. 3,792,000)
• +29% A25-54 (4,314,000 vs. 3,394,000)
• +40% M18-34 (2,105,000 vs. 1,504,000)
• +47% M18-49 (3,577,000 vs. 2,437,000)
• +41% M25-54 (2,982,000 vs. 2,120,000)
Additional highlights during 2011 NBA All-Star Game included:
• The second most-watched NBA game on television during the 2010-11 season to date.
• The most-watched NBA telecast on cable during the 2010-11 season to date.
• The top five markets tuning into the game include San Antonio with a 13.5 rating (+48% over last year), host city Los Angeles earned a 11.6 rating (+123%), Memphis earned a 10.6 rating (+39%), Chicago earned a 9.9 rating (+48%) and Miami earned a 9.4 rating (+52%). In addition, Boston earned a 7.2 rating (+100%) and New York earned a 6.4 rating (+88%).
TNT’s exclusive coverage of the 2011 NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by State Farm was the most watched All-Star Saturday Night in the event’s 26 year history. The event delivered 8.1 million total viewers, 5.1 million households and a 4.4 U.S. HH rating, based on Nielsen Fast Nationals. The 2011 event saw increases of +23% in total viewers (6,554,000), +14% in households (4,466,000) and +13% in ratings (3.9 U.S. HH) over the previous record set in 2009. In addition, NBA All-Star Saturday Night out-delivered the 2010 telecast by +49% in total viewers (8,090,000 vs. 5,441,000), +43% in households (5,100,000 vs. 3,563,000) and +42% U.S. HH rating (4.4 vs. 3.9).
Heading into the 2011 NBA All-Star break, the 2010-11 NBA season on TNT is the most watched season in Turner’s 27 years of airing NBA coverage. Through 38 games, the NBA on TNT is averaging a 1.5 U.S. rating (+26%, 1.2 U.S. rating), 2,377,000 total viewers (+30%, 1,832,000 total viewers) and 1,770,000 households (+27%, 1,390,000 households) over last year’s corresponding coverage. In addition, this season is +26% on total viewers compared to Turner’s next best regular season audience from the 1995-96 season (total viewer average 2,377,000 vs. 1,885,000).
Turner Sports and the NBA jointly manage NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA Mobile, the NBA Game Time App, NBADLEAGUE.com and WNBA.com.
Turner Sports, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is an industry leader in televised and online sports programming, airing championship level sporting events on TBS, TNT and truTV, and managing some of the most popular sports sites on the Internet. Turner Sports’ television line-up includes the NBA, Major League Baseball, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, NASCAR and professional golf. The company’s digital portfolio includes SI.com, NASCAR.COM, NCAA.com, PGATOUR.COM, GOLF.com and PGA.com, as well as an accompanying collection of mobile websites and connected device apps. Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA Mobile, the NBA Game Time App, NBADLEAGUE.com and WNBA.com.
Source: Nielsen Media Research. Based on Live+SD. 2011 NBA All-Star Saturday Night based on Nielsen Fast National data compared to NBA All-Star Game on TNT final audiences (2003 through 2010). NBA Regular Season on TNT STD; 38 games vs. 37 games. (10/26/2010-2/17/2011) vs. (10/27/2009-2/18/2010).
(Source: TNT)
