The highly anticipated debut of Luka Dončić in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform delivered for ESPN.
Monday night’s game between the Lakers and Utah Jazz averaged 2.01 million viewers on ESPN — a figure 42% higher than the network’s average regular season contest last year. The audience peaked at 2.55 million viewers in the 11:15 p.m. ET quarter hour.
The game also won the day in several key demographics, including males 18-34, 18-49, and 25-54.
According to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, Dončić’s debut was the most-watched NBA regular season game on cable since Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson made his return to Golden State in November (2.14 million viewers).
Monday’s game was added to ESPN’s schedule in anticipation of Dončić’s debut after the network originally aired Saturday’s Lakers game against the Indiana Pacers, which neither Dončić nor teammate LeBron James played in due to injury. That game drew just 1.39 million viewers on ESPN, also per Sports Media Watch.
Monday night’s audience was certainly larger than a typical late-window regular season game on ESPN. For instance, a Wednesday night game feautring the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors a couple weeks ago averaged just 888,000 viewers in the late window. Two days later, The Phoenix Suns took on the Warriors in the same time slot and averaged just 1.17 million viewers. ESPN does not typically air NBA regular season games on Monday nights.
Given what the window typically draws on other weeknights, it’s safe to say Luka Dončić’s debut significantly boosted ESPN’s normal audience. Whether that interest will continue through the rest of the regular season is yet to be seen.
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.