The NBA likely breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the first ever viewership numbers for Prime Video’s Friday night NBA broadcasts.
A doubleheader featuring the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers averaged 1.25 million viewers on Prime Video, a sizeable increase versus last year’s comparable doubleheader on ESPN (1.10 million viewers).
Celtics-Knicks averaged 1.17 million viewers in the early window, a 41% increase versus a Pacers-Knicks game in the same time slot on ESPN last year (830,000 viewers). Timberwolves-Lakers averaged 1.33 million viewers, down 4% versus Suns-Lakers on ESPN last year (1.37 million viewers).
Given that Friday marked Prime Video’s very first NBA telecast, any audience that is comparable in size to what ESPN was pulling in prior years should be viewed as a success. When Prime Video took over the Thursday Night Football package from Fox in 2022, audiences lagged well behind its linear TV counterpart. Only recently have TNF games begun to draw audiences comparable to when Fox owned the package.
The NBA is starting from a higher baseline, at least so far. And similar to Prime Video’s NFL package, the NBA is drawing considerably more younger viewers compared to linear TV.
Friday’s doubleheader averaged 659,000 viewers in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 age cohort, a 21% increase from last year’s doubleheader on ESPN (543,000 viewers). The median age of Prime Video’s NBA audience was 45.6 years, nearly eight years younger than NBA audiences on linear TV so far this season (53.3 years).
As with all Nielsen-measured data at the moment, historical comparisons are difficult as the audience measurement company has made major changes to its methodology. In February, Nielsen expanded out-of-home viewing measurements throughout the entire country (whereas just two-thirds of the country was measured for out-of-home prior). In September, the company introduced its Big Data + Panel measurements. Both have served to generally increase live sports viewing versus past years.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.