Magic-Nets was the second-most viewed Nets telecast of the season for YES with James Harden's debutGETTY IMAGES
YES Network averaged 143,000 viewers in the N.Y. market for Saturday's Magic-Nets game, as G James Harden made his debut, nearly double YES’ season-to-date average of 72,000 viewers. This comes despite the fact that the game went up against NFL playoff action and Islanders-Rangers. Magic-Nets was the second-most viewed Nets telecast of the season for YES, after its Dec. 27 Nets-Hornets telecast, which averaged 150,000 viewers (YES). In N.Y., Bob Raissman wrote the Nets will either become a "twisted reality show, appealing to those who cherish chaos, or a legitimate title contender attracting eyeballs and high TV ratings." The arrival of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant was "supposed to produce the [latter] and then some." The Nets' ratings "are up, but not nearly as much as expected." Through 11 games on YES, the Nets' 72,000 average was up 18% from 61,000 for the same number of games last season. It is "not a reach to suggest YES suits had visions of much higher numbers with two of the game’s marquee superstars on the Brooklyn roster." Now, Harden "should be an eyeball magnet, a guy who along with Durant and Irving, could really juice YES’s Nets ratings." Raissman again wondered if this is "going to be a circus or must-see basketball." But if viewers are "turned off by any antics," this will "make it harder for eyeballs to relate to and watch the Nets" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/17).
STILL A KNICKS TOWN: Despite the Nets' acquisition of Harden, NBA TV's Jared Greenberg said the “landscape of New York will never shift” from the Knicks. NBA TV’s Isiah Thomas, who has both coached the Knicks and worked in their front office, said Knicks fans are “passionate and they are loyal." Thomas: "No matter how great the team is in Brooklyn, Knicks fans will watch. They will enjoy it, but will they ever become true fans of the Brooklyn Nets? That just won't happen.” Thomas: “There is a Knicks culture that I just don’t think is going to go away. ... The Nets are in the process of developing theirs, but this Knicks fan base is rock steady” (“Pregame Show,” NBA TV, 1/17).
