The NBA had record seasons across each of its broadcast and cable TV partners this season. ABC finished with a 3.0 rating and 5.110 million viewers for its 15 telecasts, marking the net's best NBA audience figures since it acquired NBA rights prior to the '02-03 season. The net's NBA viewership was also the best on broadcast TV since NBC averaged 5.601 million viewers for the '98-99 season. ABC saw double-digit percentage gains in ratings and viewership for its "NBA Countdown" program. ESPN saw its highest-rated and most-viewed season since acquiring NBA rights, averaging a 1.5 U.S. rating and 2.003 million viewers for its 73 games, up 25% and 28%, respectively, from last season. ESPN also saw 11 of its top 20 highest-rated NBA regular-season games ever this season. TNT finished the season with its highest-rated and most-viewed package in 27 years of airing NBA games. The net's 1.6 U.S. rating and 2.453 million viewers for 52 telecasts were up 46% and 42%, respectively, from last season. This year's TNT NBA viewership is also 30% larger than the net's second-best regular-season audience ever from the '95-96 season, when the net averaged 1.885 million viewers. The net also featured three of the top five most-viewed NBA regular-season games ever on cable. Double-digit percentage growth was also seen among all key adult and male demos. During its first season as a Nielsen-rated network, NBA TV averaged 253,00 viewers for 96 non-exclusive games. The net was fueled by "Fan Night" selections for Tuesday nights, which averaged 401,000 viewers for 22 telecasts (Austin Karp, THE DAILY). USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand writes "having playoff teams in big markets helped" the NBA ratings, but the league "also built more interest in TV markets without teams." ESPN's biggest gains "came in Buffalo" (up 141%), followed by Tulsa (+127%), Hartford (+75%), San Diego (+75%) and Knoxville (+69%) (USA TODAY, 4/15).
| '10-11 NBA REGULAR-SEASON RATINGS, VIEWERSHIP |
| NET | GMS | RATING | % +/- | VIEWERS (000) | % +/- | '09-10 GMS |
| ABC | 15 | 3.0 | 30.4% | 5,110 | 38.3% | 15 |
| TNT | 52 | 1.6 | 45.5% | 2,453 | 42.4% | 53 |
| ESPN | 73 | 1.5 | 25.0% | 2,003 | 28.3% | 75 |
| NBA TV | 96 | n/a | n/a | 253 | n/a | n/a |
| | | | | | | |
SOUTH BEACH TALENT: The Heat were the top draw on TV this season with the offseason signings of G Dwyane Wade and Fs LeBron James and Chris Bosh. The team was featured in five of ABC's 15 games, averaging a 3.6 rating and 6.286 million viewers. The net's Heat-Lakers game on Christmas Day also marked the highest NBA regular-season rating since the same matchup on Christmas Day in '04. ESPN featured the Heat in 10 telecasts this season, with eight of those games ranking among the net's 20 most-viewed regular-season telecasts ever. Knicks-Heat from Feb. 27 was the net's most-viewed game this season with 4.2 million viewers. The Heat appeared 10 times on TNT, with three of those games (Celtics, Cavaliers, Lakers) ranking as the net's most-viewed NBA games of the season. The Heat-Celtics season opener topped all TNT NBA telecasts this season with 7.3 million viewers (Karp).
| TOP FIVE NBA REGULAR-SEASON AUDIENCES ON ABC
FOR '10-11 SEASON |
| DATE | TEAMS | RATING | VIEWERS (000) |
| 12/25 | Heat-Lakers | 6.4 | 13,113 |
| 12/25 | Celtics-Magic | 4.6 | 8,680 |
| 1/30 | Celtics-Lakers | 4.3 | 7,003 |
| 2/13 | Lakers-Magic | 3.5 | 5,631 |
| 2/13 | Heat-Celtics | 3.4 | 5,163 |
| | | | |
| TOP FIVE NBA REGULAR-SEASON AUDIENCES ON TNT
FOR '10-11 SEASON |
| DATE | TEAMS | RATING | VIEWERS (000) |
| 10/26 | Heat-Celtics | 4.6 | 7,348 |
| 12/2 | Heat-Cavaliers | 4.2 | 7,096 |
| 3/10 | Lakers-Heat | 3.1 | 4,844 |
| 2/10 | Lakers-Celtics | 2.9 | 4,714 |
| 10/26 | Rockets-Lakers | 2.8 | 4,279 |
| | | | |
| TOP FIVE NBA REGULAR-SEASON AUDIENCES ON ESPN
FOR '10-11 SEASON |
| DATE | TEAMS | RATING | VIEWERS (000) |
| 2/27 | Knicks-Heat | 2.7 | 4,213 |
| 12/25 | Bulls-Knicks | 2.3 | 4,017 |
| 10/29 | Magic-Heat | 2.3 | 3,774 |
| 10/29 | Lakers-Suns | 2.0 | 3,168 |
| 11/24 | Heat-Magic | 2.0 | 2,985 |
| | | | |
LOCAL LOVE: Bulls games on Comcast SportsNet Chicago this season averaged a 4.50 local rating, up 90% from the '09-10 season and the highest Bulls regular-season average on any Chicago RSN since the '97-98 season, Michael Jordan's last year with the franchise. The top 18 highest-rated regular-season Bulls games in CSN Chicago history all occurred this season. Meanwhile, 70 regular-season Celtics games on CSN New England averaged a record 4.7 local rating and 139,000 HHs, the latter up 54% from '09-10. This season also brought the highest-rated regular-season Celtics telecast in the network's history -- a 7.5 local rating for the Nov. 17 Celtics-Wizards game. Eight of CSN New England's 10 highest-rated Celtics games in history occurred this season (THE DAILY).
