The NBA All-Star game proved to have very little star power indeed, as the annual event hit all-time lows in ratings and viewership.
On a night where the league celebrated Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) while matched-up against Oprah’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, America’s foremost social justice-minded sports league suffered its lowest numbers in ratings and viewership.
“Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game, which included the Dunk Contest at halftime, averaged a combined 3.1 rating and 5.94 million viewers across TNT and TBS — down 24% in ratings and 18% in viewership from last year (4.1, 7.28M) and the lowest rated and least-watched edition of the game,” Sports Media Watch reported.
The 3.1 rating number for the All-Star Game matched the very bad 3.1 rating that Game 3 of the NBA Finals drew last year.
“In the key young adult demographics, the All-Star Game ranked second for the night in adults 18-49 with a 2.4 rating. The aforementioned CBS interview had a 2.7,” according to Sports Media Watch. “The game took top honors in adults 18-34, its 1.9 rating in the demo comfortably topping the 1.6 for CBS.”
Still, the 18-34 demo won by the ASG was not enough to threaten the CBS interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, an interview watched by 17.8 million people.