TNT earned a 5.4 overnight Nielsen rating for last night's NBA All-Star Game, down 13% from a 6.2 overnight last year, but up 17% from a 4.6 in '10. The game aired up against the Academy Awards last night on ABC, which earned a 25.5 overnight, up 4% from '11. The 5.4 overnight for the ASG marks the second-best overnight for the telecast since '05. TNT also earned a 4.4 overnight for NBA All-Star Saturday Night -- which featured the Haier Shooting Stars competition, Taco Bell Skills Challenge, Foot Locker Three-Point Contest and Sprite Slam Dunk Contest -- marking the second-highest overnight in the 27-year history of the event. Only the '09 event had a better overnight. ESPN also earned a 1.8 overnight for Sprint NBA Celebrity Game on Friday, marking the net's best rating ever for the game. Last year's telecast got a 1.7 overnight. Meanwhile, TNT finished with a 1.7 U.S. rating and 2.7 million viewers for Friday night’s BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, marking the event’s most-viewed telecast ever. This year’s event is also up 13% and 12%, respectively, from a 1.5 rating and 2.4 million viewers last year. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale topped all metered markets for each of TNT's three All-Star-related telecasts. The market topped last night's All-Star game with a 10.5 rating, marking an all-time local high for the game. Saturday night's 9.4 local rating easily topped all markets, while the 3.8 local rating on Friday night beat out a 3.7 rating for the Cleveland-Akron market. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale ranked third for the NBA Celebrity Game on ESPN behind San Antonio and Norfolk (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
ROOM FOR TWO: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir noted the All-Star Game went up against the Oscars and wrote “the time that the two broadcasts overlap may not hurt either one very much.” Horizon Media Dir of Research Brad Adgate: “There might be some channel surfing from the Oscars because there’s always dead air between the awards. But both can coexist. There’s very little shaded area between the two.” Sandomir added, “Their audiences are quite different. Those who watch the Oscars tend to be female and older. All-Star Game viewers are more likely to be younger and male" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/26).
FOUR, BUT NO SCORE: In N.Y., Bob Raissman wrote watching the ABC/ESPN NBA pregame show is "becoming a chore," as the cast of Jon Barry, Chris Broussard, Magic Johnson and Michael Wilbon have "yet to strike a chemical balance." The show tries to be "conversational," but instead of "getting any back-and-forth going, anything resembling an entertaining debate, viewers get semi-structured soliloquies delivered by each of the guys." Raissman: "We are still trying to figure out who is hosting the program. ... One guy should be running the show" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/26).
