ABC had its first Saturday primetime NBA game of the season this past weekend, with Lakers-Rockets averaging 2.92 million viewers. That is down 14% from the same matchup in the same spot on the calendar last season. It also marks the lowest opening Saturday night game for ABC since it started the slate of games during the ‘15-16 season. Two years ago, Warriors-Rockets in the same window averaged 4.47 million viewers. Earlier in the day, ABC aired Clippers-Pelicans (without Zion Williamson), averaging 1.47 million viewers. That is the least-watched NBA game on ABC since March 29, 2015, when Rockets-Wizards drew 1.34 million viewers.
The chart below lists viewership figures for select recent sports telecasts.
| TELECAST |
DATE
|
NET
|
TIME (ET)
|
RAT.
|
VIEWERS
(000)
|
| NFC Championship: 49ers-Packers |
1/19
|
Fox
|
6:41-9:44pm
|
22.0
|
42,792
|
| AFC Championship: Chiefs-Titans |
1/19
|
CBS
|
3:06-6:15pm
|
23.1
|
41,104
|
| CFP Championship: LSU-Clemson |
1/13
|
ESPN/ESPN2/
ESPNU/ESPNews
|
8:19pm-12:06am
|
n/a
|
25,588
|
| NBA: Lakers-Rockets |
1/18
|
ABC
|
8:30-11:10pm
|
1.9
|
2,916
|
| College basketball: Louisville-Duke |
1/18
|
ESPN
|
6:17-8:22pm
|
1.3
|
2,150
|
| UFC Fight Night prelims |
1/18
|
ESPN
|
8:22-10:02pm
|
1.1
|
1,767
|
| College basketball: Kentucky-Arkansas |
1/18
|
ESPN
|
4:07-6:17pm
|
1.0
|
1,618
|
| NBA: Clippers-Pelicans |
1/18
|
ABC
|
3:29-6:00pm
|
1.0
|
1,471
|
| "Postseason NFL Countdown" |
1/19
|
ESPN
|
12:00-3:00pm
|
n/a
|
1,381
|
| Liga MX: Tigres UANL-Club America |
1/18
|
Univision/UDN
|
10:02pm-12:02am
|
0.7
|
1,345
|
Premier Boxing Champions:
Jeison Ross d. Julian Williams |
1/18
|
Fox
|
8:00-10:41pm
|
0.8
|
1,302
|
| NBA: Celtics-Bucks |
1/16
|
TNT
|
8:14-10:44pm
|
0.9
|
1,277
|
| NHL: Bruins-Penguins |
1/19
|
NBC
|
12:38-3:00pm
|
0.8
|
1,195
|
| College basketball: Oregon-Washington |
1/18
|
CBS
|
3:50-6:00pm
|
0.8
|
1,141
|
| College basketball: Duke-Clemson |
1/14
|
ESPN
|
7:00-9:12pm
|
0.8
|
1,136
|
| NBA: Trail Blazers-Rockets |
1/15
|
ESPN
|
9:37-11:58pm
|
0.8
|
1,128
|
| NBA: Trail Blazers-Mavericks |
1/17
|
ESPN
|
9:35pm-12:04am
|
0.8
|
1,118
|
| Liga MX: Chivas-Pachuca |
1/18
|
Univision/UDN
|
7:55-10:02pm
|
0.6
|
1,108
|
| College basketball: Auburn-Florida |
1/18
|
CBS
|
1:30-3:50pm
|
0.7
|
1,024
|
| College basketball: Kansas-Oklahoma |
1/14
|
ESPN
|
9:12-10:50pm
|
0.6
|
979
|
| EPL: Chelsea-Newcastle |
1/18
|
NBC
|
12:30-2:30pm
|
0.6
|
843
|
LPGA: Diamond Resorts Tournament
of Champions: third round |
1/18
|
NBC
|
3:00-6:00pm
|
0.4
|
595
|
LPGA: Diamond Resorts Tournament
of Champions: final round |
1/19
|
NBC
|
3:13-6:00pm
|
0.4
|
587
|
| College basketball: Seton Hall-St. John's |
1/18
|
Fox
|
12:03-2:43pm
|
0.4
|
566
|
| College basketball: Colorado-Arizona |
1/18
|
Fox
|
2:43-5:00pm
|
0.4
|
464
|
